Copper Nickel Issue 38

Praise for Copper Nickel:

“Copper Nickel is terrific—of its time without being confined to its time, careful and thoughtful and never predictable, with the kind of internal variety that I want (and rarely get) from a litmag—not a pinlight or a penlight but a light that shines on a whole field. I’m happy to read it.”

—Stephanie Burt, author of Close Calls with Nonsense: Reading New Poetry;

Professor of English, Harvard University

“Through its combination of editorial acuity, serious belief in contemporary writing, and sheer handsomeness, Copper Nickel has established itself as the best new evidence of defiant vitality in the realm of literary journals.”

—Mark Halliday, author of six poetry collections, most recently Thresherphobe;

Distinguished Professor of English, Ohio University

“Copper Nickel is THE literary magazine to read now. Since it’s rebirth/relaunch every issue has had, inside its stunning cover, the fiction, poetry, nonfiction and works in translation any writer or lover of contemporary writing has to read. I confess: other magazines, even the New Yorker, often sit in my house unread. But Copper Nickel gets opened as quickly as a Christmas present!”

—Jesse Lee Kercheval, author of five books of fiction, most recently the novel

My Life as a Silent Movie, and seven poetry collections; Professor of English,

University of Wisconsin

“Long regarded as one of the best literary magazines in the country, the relaunched Copper Nickel has only improved, publishing a diverse range of award-winning poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in its first year. With each new issue Copper Nickel proves itself to be a wellspring of new American writing.”

—Nathan Oates, author of The Empty House; Associate Professor

of English, Seton Hall University

“In the great spirit of the late Jake Adam York, Copper Nickel is back and more relevant than ever. Where else to turn for such a dynamic combination of contemporary writing? Brilliantly curated, the diversity of voices, new and established, not only spans aesthetic divides but includes translation portfolios, art and essays that address pressing concerns of writers working today.”

—Sally Keith, author of four poetry collections, most recently River House;

Associate Professor of Creative Writing, George Mason University

“Copper Nickel is one of the most diverse, daring, and visually beautiful literary journals I’ve ever read. The fact that its relaunch has gained national recognition is no surprise—now more than ever, Copper Nickel is a goldmine for readers of contemporary poetry and prose.”

—Allison Benis White, author of three poetry collections, most recently Please Bury Me in This;

Associate Professor of Creative Writing, University of California Riverside

“Copper Nickel is more than a literary journal—it’s an event. A celebration. An embrace. And it is also essential reading for anyone who cares about contemporary writing these days, in America and beyond.”

—Whitney Terrell, author of The Good Lieutenant; Assistant Professor

of Creative Writing, University of Missouri Kansas City

“Copper Nickel has been a great magazine for quite awhile, and it continues to get better. Aesthetically diverse, welcoming of both established and emerging writers, it’s always worth a cover-to-cover read.”

—Martha Collins, author of ten poetry collections, most recently Admit One:

An American Scrapbook; Professor Emerita, Oberlin College

“When I first encountered Copper Nickel, I was a hopeful graduate student looking for poems written by my peers to both resonate with me and challenge me. I found so many new heroes in the pages of Copper Nickel, and it also allowed me to encounter the work of its brilliant editors as well, including Jake Adam York. When Jake passed, I mourned both him and his vision. It’s been thrilling to see Copper Nickel come back to life, and in its new alchemical form, it is as much if not more wide-seeing and enlivening as ever. I recommend it frequently to my students, colleagues, and lovers of engaging literature and art.” 

—Tarfia Faizullah, author of the poetry collection Seam; Visiting Professor

of Creative Writing, University of Michigan

“The newly relaunched Copper Nickel is certainly one of the most exciting literary magazines being published in the country today. The poems, stories, and essays are of the very highest quality and the editors’ passion for a truly international vision of literature as well as for the discovery of new work by emerging authors shows in every issue. It’s no surprise that this year’s work from Copper Nickel has been selected for inclusion in three of the most prestigious annual anthologies in print: Best American Poetry, Best American Short Stories, and the Pushcart Prize Anthology.”

—Kevin Prufer, author of six poetry collections, most recently The Fears;

Professor of Creative Writing, University of Houston

“I admire the careful curation of the issues of the rebooted Copper Nickel, its diversity of aesthetics and cultural voices, in particular its commitment to emerging writers: in the current issue, two of my favorite pieces are by Sequoia Nagamatsu and Cathy Linh Che, fierce writers (each the author of one book) who are new to me. And what’s consistent in the magazine—line by line; sentence by sentence—is the caliber of the work.”

—Randall Mann, author of three poetry collections, most recently Deal: New & Selected Poems