NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW ON-LINE

www
Anon
67 Learmonth Grove
Edinburgh
EH4 1BL
UK
£4.50 [US/Asia/Africa £5.90 or $9 cash; EU £5.20 or €7 cash; Australasia £6]
Subscriptions: 3 issues £12 [US/Asia/Africa £16.20 or $25 cash; EU £14 or €20 cash; Australasia £16.80]
email Anon
NO EMAIL SUBMISSIONS
visit Anon's website
www
Before commenting on this review please read the FAQ page
Home page
Notes for publishers
Want to be a reviewer?
Anthologies.
Books.
Audio.
Magazines.
Software.
Video.
Artefacts.
Web design by Gerald England
This page last updated: 8th January 2004. 		Anon #1

The first issue of ANON contains poetry of a high standard and is very well produced, in paperback style.

There is a pleasing sense of editorial purpose and ambition. However, it's hard to say whether or not the contents' quality is achieved because of — or despite — the distinctive and anonymous selection procedures. Inevitably, the reader will be drawn into the debate about the 'house rules' of the magazine. Indeed, they are positively encouraged to do so by a brace of articles. These present opposing views on the rationale behind separating poets' names from their work before selection begins. Carolyn Oulton expands upon the magazine's aim of

providing a level playing field for all poets a magazine based on anonymous submission procedures is not only refreshingly egalitarian, but also crucial for the way we approach new work..
Editor Mike Stocks extends the debate, anticipating criticisms of editorial bias resulting from other 'aesthetic preferences and leanings'. He proceeds to explain how ANON employs a number of readers to dilute any idiosyncratic editorial tastes. The magazine's raison d'être is defended with such conviction that one could be persuaded of the benefits to all publications of diluting or removing authors' identities.

At this point Gerald England picks up the poisoned chalice and manfully argues 'against the concept of ANON'. His key points are as simple and persuasive as those of his opponents: magazines are not competitions, they

need to have some sort of focus and balance
Individuality, in other words. England pursues an interesting digression on the vast and frustrating range of covering letters that all editors have to endure. For the record, his preference is:
brief covering letters that [tell] me just enough to know that the poems [have] been written by a real live person with a bit of personality
His point is simple: any editor 'worth their salt' should be confident enough to make selections despite the associated packaging that complements any submission: name, accompanying begging letter and/or S.A.E. Poets published in ANON are named in the contents, but not on the page where their work appears. A pedant might argue that is a blurring of the magazine's principles: the writers are no longer anonymous. Practically, it's a little irritating having to flick back to ANON's opening pages each time one wants to determine whether a writer is known, unknown, animal, vegetable or mineral. But it's a good read, its qualities focused by the compulsion to enjoy its contents in a linear fashion (how often do we skip the pages of a newspaper or magazine because we don't like, or recognise certain names?).

The author of ASPERGER'S MUSE appears to have no truck with poetic conventions, throwing out symptoms of the condition in a vivid and provocative way. Then a beautifully elliptical conclusion is achieved:

	Seeing spoken sanctuary
	in the perfect circle's key
	he draws a closed perimeter
	around himself.
PICTURES FOR LOOKING has a distinctive style, recreating the ageing process through layers of images, some attractive, some disturbing. They are all evocative, not least this depiction of motherhood:
					... the missing
	one who felt her feet against her walls as we
	pushed forward, to feel the light on our skin.
The magazine is clearly determined to promote a wide range of writing, such as the longer three-part poem, GERALD. The author's apparent tribute to a diseased older brother traces their relationship over a twenty-five year period, and via a range of locations and characters. The reader is fed enough detail to be interested, but tantalised by some half-defined truths. This is a hard balance to strike, perfectly achieved. Who was the brother, Gerald?
			... — a cabinet maker

	who did not make cabinets, worked
		as a carpenter, lots of
		hammering for a pay check
		from the Soldiers' Home.
A notably lighter tone is achieved in THE KING OF CUSTARD PIES, a tribute to the challenged purveyors of 'the flan plan', whose work is increasingly obstructed by bureaucracy:
	It would come to something
	if the world's leading tart terrorist
	had to hang up his flan case.
A regular section, of children's poetry by one writer, is commendable. This features illustrations, with a selection in a larger that is pleasingly diverse. Here's one piece in its entirety:
	We held a Hold Your Breath Contest
	Me Sammy, Shaun and Sid
	Sid held his breath for a fortnight.
	We're going to miss that kid.
ANON has started very well, and is driven by professional and intelligent values. Whatever one's view of its selection procedures, they have uncovered work of a wide range by familiar and new names. In keeping with the approach of the magazine, no contributors' names are reproduced in this review. To read is to learn!

[Editor's note — the decision not to name the above authors is that of the reviewer.]

reviewer: Will Daunt