Bonfire: a Writers' Resource

So, why Bonfire? A lot of reasons, really. Back in the 1970s there was a fine magazine called Poetry Information that was more interested in acting as a resource for writers than in providing yet another medium in which to publish poems. It had articles on technique and reviews of other small press stuff. I bought up all the back issues I could afford. Sadly, it died a death shortly after I started submitting poetry myself. Nothing filled the gap.

Now it's 1998, twenty years down the road — I've got a few more poems under my belt and a bit more experience. But there still seems to be no beacon out there for new poets to steer by. The best one can hope for is that some empathetic editor might take a few minutes with him to point him in the right direction. That happened to me and I'm grateful. It's time to return the favour.

Why use the internet and not publish a conventional magazine? Because here's where the future lies. There's a lot of bad poetry on The Web but there's good stuff too. It's finding it.

The second thing that's of special interest to me is a spot where willing poets can open up and explain how they work. I felt so alone at first. I believed passionately in what I was producing but I was only doing what felt right. I knew I had some talent but I lacked direction. I thought I was alone. Little did I realise I was anything but. So, let's demystify what we do and hopefully this might encourage new poets to do something with all that stuff running around in their heads. I'm still willing to learn but that does not mean I have nothing to give. It also does not mean that mine is the only voice, so speak up.

Send us your poems and articles, please, but if you're submitting poetry we will not publish anything without some commentary. We're keen to hear from editors of other sites and hardcopy magazines, too. Bonfire is a new venture and we're open to suggestion. This will only work if people want it to.

Jim Murdoch
Bonfire editor