Poetry, the creatively titled poetry magazine (also referred to as Poetry: A Magazine of Verse), is a Chicago-based magazine founded by Harriet Monroe that’s still in circulation. Categorized by months, it’s a fantastic source of the times’ current poems. Notably, it did not seem to feature other media, such as short stories, artwork, photography, or interviews. However, poetry is not all that is included. Each section (month) is concluded with a 2-3 page news recap by Monroe. In the table of contents, these are labeled as prose. This shows that alongside poetry, there was an emphasis on modern discourse and political happenings. Consisting mostly of work inspired by modernism, there is an undeniable tie between the movement and social awareness. Monroe also occasionally dedicates essay-like comments on certain works. Although I did not find any such comments by any other writer, this indicates that it wasn’t just important to read poetry; it was also important to discuss.
In the 1926 April-September issue specifically, I found it noteworthy that the only author whose work was included with margin annotations was Mark Turbyfill’s poem “A Marriage with Space.” Additionally, it was the only work contained in the May chapter. I did not recognize his name, and after some Google searching discovered that he was not just a poet, but also a dancer and a painter. Like Poetry, Turbyfill hails from Chicago and is known for his avant-garde verse. His Poetry Foundation biography begins by highlighting the Poetry’s unique dedication to “A Marriage with Space,” but is otherwise incredibly short (only three paragraphs). To me, there is no better example of how, despite a poem being highly stressed and significant for a period, it is not a guarantee of eternal influence. What is read and who is famous changes rapidly.
Mark Turbyfill…who knew?!