Letters to the Editors, Anniversary Edition
When we planned our tenth anniversary issue, we sent an invitation to all our authors to tell us what The Fairfield Review meant to them as a writer. Here are the letters we received. We are truly humbled by what they said.
Edward G. Happ
Publisher, The Fairfield Review, Inc.
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Dear Fairfield Review
I am always thrilled to be published in The Fairfield Review-- in so many ways, small presses have been incredibly supportive, incredibly necessary in getting my work out to the public--often, even more than book collections. So I thank you so much and wish you another ten years.
Sincerely
Lyn Lifshin
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Dear Janet and Edward,
I was still a relatively "young" poet when I first submitted work to The Fairfield Review in early 2001. I was unsure about choosing such a magazine because at that time, I wasn't entirely confident in my role as a poet, especially as it pertained to the other poets whose work was being published there. To my utter surprise my work was accepted. It was a thrilling feeling to know that what I had to say was considered universally understood because the editors of such a magazine said so by accepting, then publishing the work. It gave me a sense of confidence. I went on to submit my poetry and have had many poems accepted in a variety of magazines and journals all over the world.
The Fairfield Review published more of my work in the Winter of 2003, but what meant the most to me was when they released their The Best of The Fairfield Review 1997-2002 and included one of my pieces. Since that time I've authored five collections of poetry. My first title, The Sometimes Girl, is currently the focus of a translation course in Germany. I also founded and edit on online journal of contemporary American poetry called Contemporary American Voices. I will always look up to and admire the people with the dedication it takes to run a journal, especially when through their consistency, effort and obvious love for poetry, continue to do so. Happy 10th Anniversary! Here's to the next ten and the ten after that!
~Lisa Zaran
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The Fairfield Review was one of my earliest online publications. I had already had seven chapbooks out via good small press markets and well over 150 poems in print magazines when I published there. But seeing a quality publication of this sort online helped make me realize the benefits of reaching a much wider audience through the internet. I will always be grateful for the standards that this magazine and others like it maintain.
Sam Silva
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Dear Janet and Ed,
In April 1998, after 5 years of a messed-up back, I underwent a spinal fusion. Before the surgery I was a nervous wreck; but right in the middle of these plans, I received a letter inviting me to read poems at a literary gathering in New York. The letter was from you; the poems you invited me to read had just been accepted into The Fairfield Review, which had pleased me greatly. Having returned to writing a few years earlier after a very long break, The Fairfield Review was one of the first journals to publish my work.
I arrived to the Reading wearing a full-torso hard-shelled body cast, driven by my mother. It was the first trip I had taken out of the house since surgery, except for a few doctor's appointments. Halsted was there, along with many CT-area poets I would eventually know well in the coming years. My life had slowed down considerably both leading up to and for quite a while after the surgery, but my writing improved during these quiet years, as did the joy of publicly reading poetry.
By 2002, I had co-launched a Poetry Open Mic Night, a tradition that I have maintained here in York England where I am now living, family and all, as we pursue various Archaeology degrees. My Featuring has slowed as my doctorate has warmed up, but the Open Mics I that I attend or run continue to provide a much-needed creative jolt. The New York reading in May 1998 was the very first Featured Writer spot I have ever had, and I will always recall those early days of publishing and performance with happiness.
Rose Drew
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The Fairfield Review is the first publication that accepted and printed one of my poems. The poem was entitled Two Poets Waking Up Together and I wrote it when I was a freshman in college. I wrote it for my first love, the person who introduced me to the great emotional state (if it can be called an emotional state) of romantic love, the first person that brought magic to ordinary mornings, the first person who filled my heart sweetly and then broke it… I remember that morning, waking up with my lover and appreciating life in such a pure and simple way-- as if we were immortal and our love was immortal and the sun was immortal-- as if the sun would forever shine on our softly interlocking fingers. The poem is a remnant of my life, a tender clue to who I was and what my essence is. It is remarkable to me, how much I’ve changed since writing Two Poets Waking Up Together, and how innocent I must have been when I wrote it. Since my freshman year of college, I have woken up with other lovers-- and rarely to such a magical morning, but mornings swollen with the knowledge of impermanence, mortality, and deceit. The Fairfield Review holds so many moments of so many lives, and it means a lot to me that it holds a moment of mine. I appreciate this publication, not only because I feel grateful for its kindness in printing my work, not only for its elegance and quality and beauty, but because it holds a very personal part of me-- because we will always be connected in some unforgettably intimate way.
Thank you so much,
Jayme Kurland
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Dear Editors:
With the use of my poem "Cousins" in the Winter 2003 issue, The Fairfield Review brought me into the realm of on-line journal publication for the first time -- and I was glad of the company my poem kept. The other poems in the "neighborhood" were high quality work! May there be many more years of The Fairfield Review!
Grace, Peace & Poetry --
R. S. Carlson
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Dear Janet and Edward Granger-Happ:
The Fairfield Review has meant a lot to me as a new (and lazy) writer. Writing is difficult enough, but finding the time and motivation to send out one's work, mostly to be rejected, is even harder. I usually expect my writing to be rejected, so it's not shocking to receive those letters. I should be receiving more of them, but I'm not sending out enough work. It isn't just laziness; after a while, the rejection letters take their toll and motivation escapes like air from a slow-leak tire.
The Fairfield Review was the first journal of any note to publish my poetry. What made it even more special was that it was a poem about my mother, the acceptance came just before my father died, and, he was the first person with whom I shared the good news.
The Fairfield Review has changed the plight of new writers getting published in a big way, especially for this writer.
With sincere gratitude,
Mary Ellen Elias
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Dear Janet & Edward Granger-Happ,
I was honored last year to have my story The Light of Day, and the year before, Cutting included in your magazine. I have read your section in Novel & Short Story Writer's Market for years and submitted a few times, so was happy to have my work published in
a long running literary magazine like yours. I like the interaction with readers and writers on your website, the way you are open to suggestions and new ideas. Thank you for letting me be a part of your magazine.
Sincerely,
Margaret Karmazin
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Dear Janet and Edward Granger-Happ
Happy 10th Anniversary to The Fairfield Review!
Gaining an acceptance doesn't just mean an independent editor values your work and wants to publish it, it means you can finally claim to be a writer. Nothing quite beats the thrill of seeing your work in print. But, after a while, some acceptances become more valued than others. I've always valued acceptance from The Fairfield Review because the accepted work is of consistent quality. I have huge respect for magazines that are open to new talent, as The Fairfield Review is. Happy 10th anniversary and let's look forward to another decade.
Thanks,
Emma Lee
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Dear Janet & Edward:
I am happy to participate in your 10th anniversary. Thank you for inviting me.
I am very grateful to The Fairfield Review since you are the first publication that took an interest in my work, and found something of merit there. It made me very happy to have my first work published by The Fairfield Review, I still remember it to this day, and I thank you very much.
All the best,
Isabelle Ghaneh
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Dear Janet & Edward:
To have lasted ten years as a literary magazine in crowded and quicksilver cyberspace is cause for celebration. To be published in it is cause for self-congratulation.
There, having begun this prose note with an unintentional rhyming couplet, let me say why for me The Fairfield Review sets itself out from the dense pack, even apart from the quality of its content. Many magazines not only lack Fairfield's online longevity, they live in some unspecified corner of the cyber-cosmos. But Fairfield is solidly rooted in the local, in its case, Connecticut. It affirms continuity in other ways, too: with the "Classic Poem" feature, which puts our time-bound work in historical perspective, implying an ongoing belief in an ongoing poetic enterprise. And it makes a determined effort to show that readers and contributors are part of that sustained project.
I'm happy to have had a small share in it.
Fraser Sutherland
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Dear Janet, Edward and all the Staff at Fairfield:
Congratulations on ten years! I've always appreciated Fairfield's site, especially the readers' choice, but also the issues themselves and the solid work you publish. I was pleased to be part of the endeavor a few years back… If all goes well, I should see the publication of my second collection of poetry within the next few months. Its title is Ordinary Time, and it won the Spire Poetry Contest. Thanks for the work you do …
Best,
Jackie Bartley
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When the e-mail arrived stating that the editors of The Fairfield Review wanted to use several of the poems submitted, I was as happy as anyone who might meet the same reception from The New Yorker. It is always a little like receiving a gift at Christmas, something a writer, especially a poet can become overwhelmed, but. I can never be immune to such. Then I was pleased to later find myself in the company of so many other fine writers. The Fairfield Review gave me a much wider audience, in that one could get it from any place, as long as s/ he had access to a computer. I had not ever had work published online before then. For this, I am forever grateful to Janet and Edward. It certainly isn't the place that one gets to have his worked showcased, but the quality in which his work is shared. To me, The Fairfield Review is as fine a place as those overly coveted by most. Excellence is all we should seek regardless of who presents. I conclude by saying this: The Fairfield Review, is as good and as difficult to get into as all of those overrated places that publish all boring poems received like beautiful stillborns, useful to no one.
Willie James King
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The Fairfield Review was one of the first online literary reviews to publish my work. This kept me writing in moments of doubt and I have since published two novels and a book of poetry. I toast the editors of this fine organization and celebrate their continued success.
Kirby Wright
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I was honored when The Fairfield Review published my work, to be placed along side some great contemporary poets made me feel better about myself and my art. I have enjoyed reading along since and found it to be even better as time went by. I congratulate the editors for keeping their vision true and feedback honest. Here's to the next decade...Cheers!
Love, Peace and Knowledge
Jack G Bowman
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As a poet, The Fairfield Review was the first on-line literary magazine I submitted to and was published in. This was after overcoming major concerns of submitting on-line. Having poems selected for several editions, I eventually felt confident enough to submit to and be published in others.
This new process gives me freedom from the hassles of mailing and I find it much more inviting to submit on-line. I appreciate that Edward and Janet, took and still take the time with their “ ...labor of love.”
I belong to two workshop groups and read at various venues around the state where I relay all the good that has happened for me with being published in The Fairfield Review so that other poets will also overcome their fears of on-line submissions (you would
not believe!) and submit to help maintain the quality of poetry that appears in The Fairfield Review.
As a reader, I have enjoyed spending time reading the poems selected for each addition and have become a fan of several poets.
Bonnie Enes
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Dear Ed & Janet,
Congrats on 10 years of literary work! Reading the works contained within The Fairfield Review has been a special pleasure to me. But, having the honor to be a contributing writer has been an even greater pleasure. To share my work via your publication has ever brought to me a special warm feeling inside, knowing that somewhere there are readers who have felt a sense of satisfaction when they read my fiction pieces (or, at least I hope they feel something positive!).
Joe Trocino
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Dear Janet and Edward:
As for your Anniversary issue, I want first to say that The Fairfield Review is a fine journal. The physical poetry balances with the intellectual. The overall effect is fresh and subtle and effective. It pleases me that The Fairfield Review is a Connecticut journal, and that I have been a contributor.
Sincerely,
Hugo DeSarro
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Dear Editors:
Congratulations on the Tenth Anniversary of The Fairfield Review. It certainly has been an enriching experience for poetry since you initiated this outstanding journal. Not only is the selected work accessible, it is finely crafted and that is due, in no small part, to your editorship. Your comments and insights are valuable, while the suggestions you provide help develop the intention of the poet. As an author and contributor, it is most positive to work with editors who care as much about your work as you do. I am proud and humbled with the opportunities you have provided for my efforts. My sincerest wishes for another successful decade.
All best,
Michael Keshigian
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Dear Janet and Edward Granger-Happ:
“I was delighted my poem appeared in an online journal as distinguished as The Fairfield Review. It was a thrill to see my work published with a classic like E.E. Cummings’ maguire and milly and molly and may; I love its accomplished diction, rhythms and whimsy. Also, The Fairfield Review has an outstanding, easy to use archive, which even allows searches by author’s name.
Sincerely,
Susan Landon
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The Fairfield Review is instrumental for young writers seeking an outlet for their poetic voices. As a college senior three years ago, I was thrilled to discover that there was a literary magazine genuinely interested in hearing from unpublished, unknown student writers. The editors' selection of my poem renewed my confidence in my writing ability and I can easily imagine how similar selections likewise opened the world of literary possibility for many equally anonymous writers.
Best,
Anita J. Durkin
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Dear Janet and Edward.
It's wonderful to see The Fairfield Review is still going strong. There are two things I really appreciate about what you're doing. One, I think you offer an important venue for new writers to get their work out to a discerning audience. Secondly, your publication represents an important model for how an online zine can flourish. Literary magazines on line are being taken more and more seriously, and The Fairfield Review has done much to help that cause. Thanks for all of that and, thanks again, for publishing my work.
Be well,
Martin Woodside
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Congratulations on 10 years! I'm very honored to have been a part of your history.
Thanks,
Lynda Forman
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Janet and Edward,
Congratulations on the Fairfield Review's tenth anniversary! Your encouragement of new writers is admirable, and having my poem Slipping appear in your journal was great encouragement to me to persevere in sending out my work.
I wish you all the best in the next ten years and look forward to reading more poems from the many worthwhile new voices you share with your readers.
Best regards,
Lynn Patmalnee
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Dear Ed and Janet,
Reading Fairfield Review is always a delight. You always manage to find writing that is fresh and often surprising. I was doubly pleased that you published a poem of mine: It is always nice to keep good company, and I was particularly pleased that you selected a poem in which I remember a childhood car ride with my father as I reflect upon his passing. Thank you for that and for your fine journal.
Sincerely,
Mark McGuire-Schwartz
Version # 2 (slightly tongue in cheek)
Dear Ed and Janet,
Before I was published in Fairfield Review, I had a wonderful family, good health, wonderful friends, and a fine career, but now my life is complete! Thank you for publishing such a fine journal that is always fresh and exciting.
Sincerely,
Mark McGuire-Schwartz
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Dear Janet and Ed,
I enjoy The Fairfield Review. Where else can one find a good selection of literary quotes, tips on writing and appear beside such classic luminaries as Edna St. Vincent Millay, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Emily Dickenson, E. E. Cummings (where I learned that he signed his name with capital letters), Robert Frost and all those Williamses: William Carlos Williams, William Blake, William Stafford and William Shakespeare, as well as with such an excellent sampling of contemporary poets.
All best,
Ellaraine
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Dear Janet and Ed,
I was lucky enough in late 1996 or early 1997 to read at an event and location now forgotten, at which Ed Happ asked if I'd be interested in submitting my poem, Fear: the Bully and the Fight Within for a new online literary journal. The poem, my first publication in an online journal appeared in the Spring 1997 issue. Since then, The Fairfield Review has been a constant companion--even when I have forgotten it for several months at a time--that always welcomes me back and makes available the voices of writers and poets, many of whom I've come to know and love as friends and colleagues, and all of whom reinforce my inclination to sit down in front of a blank page and write. Thank you, Janet and Ed.
Thanks very much,
Reggie Marra
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It has been a honor to have my work included in The Fairfield Review. You took a chance and published In the other universe, a rather tough and gritty poem of mine, and another kind of chance, with a 'formal' poem, And yet another. I continue to be impressed with the variety and intensity of the work you publish. Congratulations as you reach ten years of fine work! Best wishes for the next ten.
Respectfully,
Kelley J. White
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