"The North (No.57, 2017)", Ann Sansom and Peter Sansom (eds)

190 pages, 22cm by 21cm, small print. 173 poems by 84 poets (Graham Mort, David Constantine, Susan Wicks, Peter Riley, etc). Lots to read.

There are articles about Shirley McClure, John Riley, poetry for children, Jack Spicer, favourite books chosen by 30 smith|doorstep poets, etc. The standard features are "Poets I Go Back To", "Blind Criticism", "Close Reading", "In Conversation" (Susan Wicks with Jackie Wills this time) and "Featured Title" (a Peter Riley book this time). Of the 14 reviewers, 6 have had pamphlets/books published by smith|doorstep. I noted a few things -

• "In a way I feel that having kids is almost an equivalent of going to war, historically, for men, the way women have put their bodies at risk, their identities at risk, allowing their lives to change suddenly" - Susan Wicks (p.146)
• "The bedside lamp's afterglow is all at once 'an aspirin ... dissolving in a glass of darkness' and I put the lamp back on, reach for Transtromer" - Mark Pajak, (p.97)
• "If books are the flagships of the literary world, then pamphlets are our kayaks and coracles - sleek and nimble, they can navigate more easily the 'music of what happens', and part the waters for larger vessels that sail in their wake" - Theophilus Kwek, (p.178)
• "A wheelie bin crosses the road without looking,/ lands flat on its face on the other side, spilling/ its knowledge" ('The Met Office Advises Caution', Rebecca Watts)
• David Tait writes of Jennifer Copley's "The Living Daylights" - "I'm still amazed that pamphlet didn't win some big prizes"

"The North", Ann Sansom and Peter Sansom (eds), No.51, 2013

This likeable poetry magazine, which started in 1986, comes out twice a year. The format's nearly square. It has roughly 30 pages of reviews, 40 pages of features and 60 pages of poetry (by Sean O'Brien, Susan Wicks, Blake Morrison, Moniza Alvi, Graham Mort, Vona Groake, etc). Reviewers and feature-writers get bios; poets don't. The poems are rarely obscure.

There are some regular columns amongst the features (e.g. "Blind Criticism" where 2 poets comment on an unseen text). The features (all well written) focus more on being a poet than on dry technique - personal reactions, favourites, interviews, etc. Jackie Wills wrote "I always have a break when I've finished a manuscript - I reckon on six months at least without writing a poem", which made me feel better.

Reviews are complementary, a write-up's brevity and lack of an opinion perhaps indicating doubts. In the 30 pages the only adverse comments were Edmund Prestwich being twice disappointed, Alison Prince writing "The words used are delicious, and perhaps that is enough", and Paul Stephenson who "questioned some of the line breaks". Reviewers try to show what's good about a book.

For details see the Poetry Business site.