In the few months since Suspension's birth, I have learned more than I ever thought possible about poetry on the internet. From the hijacking of sites dedicated ostensibly to social networking (Twitter, Facebook, Blogger...) to the literally hundreds of active online journals (Read This, Contemporary Sonnet, Words-Myth...), the internet appears to have stepped in to the voids left by the declining print industry (see Salt Publishing for a crash course on the effects of recession on small publishers). Still, you already knew this, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded that poetry is very much alive and very much online.
Having said that, there will always be room on the bookshelves of the world for the printed word which is why it is my pleasure to (sort-of) announce that a printed version of this magazine is, at the very least, being considered. Call me old fashioned, but there is something inherently satisfying about seeing one's work on a page - something which, for all their qualities, online magazines (this one included) can not reproduce. So please watch this space for further developments and, if you are already a contributor to Suspension, keep an eye on your inbox - Suspension Press may soon be calling.
Speaking of our contributors, I have had a pleasantly busy few months worth of submissions, the best of which has been shuttled straight to the page for your reading pleasure. It began in February with a space-filling excersise and a pair of poems by yours truly, but our first true submission came from Alan Summers - the eminently elegant haikuist and events organiser., who gave us his wonderful 'Harbourside Haiku'. Shortly thereafter came a little flurry of poems by Lloyd Fletcher, whose taut, muscular verse speaks passionately of the poetic process and of fierce landscapes where the sun's "smouldering eye" clings "to the molten edge of the world".
March and April slipped by quietly until Tony D'Arpino swept through to eviscerate the cobwebs, submitting three poems rooted in nature and displaying a vivid sense of locality. May closed with Keith Hilling's outrageously ambitious 'Cube', a six part epic on the processes of growth, creativity, passion, poetry and education.
We've ushered in June with D.J. Clarke and Ben McCluskey - both previously unpublished poets whose submitted works all carry the authentic stamp of quality. Clarke's work focuses on both the little mysteries of nature, like "gooseberries plumping out their hairy sheaths for sour resin", and the human relationships which underpin our interactions with it. David will also be contributing an article on the Lansdown Poets Group of which he is a member, so look out for that in the near future. McCluskey's 'The Loughs' displays the author's mesmerising linguistic verve, conjuring, in only a single short poem, an entire world.
These are the fruits of Suspension's labours and it's my sincere hope that you will enjoy these works by some of our most gifted local poets. A massive, shuddering shout-out should also go to Henry Ireland of Elan, who produced some wonderful business cards for us which were very much appreciated and have gone a long way towards promoting this site.
Thank you for reading!
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