Because the 2017 issue of Illuminations is dedicated to South African poetry, regular and new contributors will have to wait until June 2018 for the next appearance of an open issue of the magazine. So as not to discourage poets and writers from submitting their work, we have therefore decided to increase our web-presence by opening this blog site (illuminationsmagazine), on which we will post new work, reviews, and announcements. The site gives us for the first time a venue for posting notices of books received, too.

In the coming weeks you can expect to see us posting a series of pieces that continue the theme of Illuminations 31: issues of race and racial violence. We are very excited to open this sequence with a powerful introductory essay by noted New Orleanian poet Brenda Marie Osbey, and poems by Martin Espada, Safiya Sinclair, and Afaa Michael Weaver. Ms Osbey has been soliciting additional poems for this series, and we encourage other poets and writers to join the conversation, by sending us their own poetry and/or commentary.

Please check back in the next few days for the first in this new series, and check back regularly for additional announcements, notices, and reviews.

Simon Lewis

Editor, Illuminations: An International Magazine of Contemporary Writing