today is a day of a celebration: 6 years ago, on 22nd May 2005, BluePrintReview launched. the issue is still up, here: BluePrintReview Issue 1, and consists of 9 pages: a text, a reality, a dream, a film, a prayer, a book, a walk, a motion, a reflection.
all issues are listed in the archive - which also shows the growth of BluePrintReview. from issue 10 onwards, the issue had themes - first those themes developed from the submissions sent, later there were theme calls. issue 17 includes a reflection on the growth in the note "about #17", here's a quote which also catches the spirit of BluePrintReview beyond the issue:
"can literary magazines develop a sense of self? if so, it would only be logical that blueprintreview, at 17, turned physical. and no, it isn't me, the editor, who chooses the issue themes. they develop through incoming submissions, just like adolescents develop their personality through exposure to the world. .. it's one of the dynamics of blueprintreview: the way texts and images in each issue develop unplanned connections.
another aspect of turning 17: a shift of pace. meetings with strangers. ventures into new places. a rush of happenings. - never before has blueprintreview received so many submissions, both from new and regular contributors. never before has the review been reviewed itself. as a result, the bodyscapes come with texts that spin and frill and curve, with images that line into colour patterns that cross over - and with a reflection of itself:
“BluePrintReview is an online journal constructed to ease the complex and beautiful convergence of language and art and all the possibilities this entails." - NewPages.com
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the synergy issue + language/place
the current issue #27: "synergetic transformations" was the largest and most complex issue so far - it included 23 collaborations, 45 contributing authors and artists, and had a size of 70 pages, and an unexpected focus on poetry. more about it, in the post below: synergetic completion
not to forget on this birthday: since November 2010, BluePrintReview has a sister publication: the > language >place blog carnival, a journal that works in a different way: blog-based, with changing hosts and decentral structure. like BluePrintReview, it has an international range of contributors, it includes multiple different formats. the current edition#5 is hosted by Parmanu, who created a virtual Museum of Language & Place, the upcoming edition is hosted by Michelle Elvy, has the theme "Language & Place at the Edge", and will go live in the next week.
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upcoming: issue #28
back to BluePrintReview: i am still excited about the synergy issue. at the same time, it left me wondering about issue 28. i don't think trying to compete with that in the next issue would be a good idea. "i guess i'd better go for a simple issue next," i noted in a mail. "maybe a summer story issue, after the collaborative poetry of #27. not sure about the theme yet."
this week, the theme surfaced, out of a combination of moments and conversations. details and guidelines to follow, but i want to announce it already: issue #28 will be about "challenge", with a focus on short stories. and it won't include 70 pages.
the call for submissions is up here:
Call for BluePrintReview #28: Challenge
looking forward to it. and will go browsing the pages of the previous issues now, in celebration!
happy blue sunday + thanks to the countless authors and artists who contributed to this venue of words, images, and cross-connections.
blue cheers~
Dorothee
2 comments:
Happy Birthday and congratulations! Great to have a look at the first issue. You do such a fabulous job with BPR. tumble tumble. :)
Happy B'Day" :)
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