New Directions

Continuing the theme of online poetry magazines and publishers - my attention was recently drawn to the growing activity of Shearsman Books. Shearsman started out as a U.K. poetry magazine in 1981, but didn't appear for some years until the early 1990s, when it acquired new life under its editor Tony Frazer. It has since developed into a fully-fledged poetry publishing business, and has now produced nearly 50 titles, including work by some of the best known names on the U.K. and U.S. poetry scene. With the demise of some of the older magazines and publishing firms like STAND and Northern House, and the dominance of the three large poetry publishing firms Bloodaxe Books, Faber and Carcanet Press, there is is certainly room for a new competitor in the field, and Shearsman looks as though it may fill the bill very well. The really interesting aspect of Shearsman is its growing concentration on online publishing, which may well be the way of the future.