Mezzo Cammin#Women Poets Timeline Project
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Mezzo Cammin is a semiannual online literary journal devoted to formalist poetry by contemporary women{{cite web |url=http://www.mezzocammin.com/iambic.php?vol=2010&iss=1&cat=about&page=about |title=Mezzo Cammin: An Online Journal of Formalist Poetry by Women – About |format= |accessdate=2010-08-05}}{{cite news|title=Business Newsmakers|url=http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100718/NEWS/7180324/-1/NEWSMAP|accessdate=3 August 2010|newspaper=The Standard-Times (New Bedford)|date=18 July 2010}} as well as to bring attention back to work that was more famous in previous eras.{{cite web |url=http://newsguide.us/index.php?path=/art-entertainment/books/Largest-Database-of-Women-Poets-to-be-Launched-in-Washington-D-C-on-March-27/ |title=Books – Largest Database of Women Poets to be Launched in Washington, D.C. on March 27 |format= |work=NewsGuide.us |accessdate=2010-08-05}} The journal's title comes from Judith Moffett's poem "Mezzo Cammin", which in turn takes its title from the opening line of the famous Italian poet Dante Alighieri's Inferno. The journal was associated for a long time with the West Chester University Poetry Conference.Bridgford, Kim. "[http://www.mezzocammin.com/iambic.php?vol=2010&iss=2&cat=statement&page=statement Anniversary Statement]." Mezzo Cammin: Fifth-Anniversary Issue. January 2011. The founding editor in chief was Kim Bridgford.{{cite news|title=Award winning poet from Wallingford reads at Mx CC |newspaper=Record-Journal|location=Meriden, Connecticut |date=2007-11-19}} Its advisory board consists of well-known poets such as Annie Finch, Allison Joseph, Marilyn Nelson, and Molly Peacock. Since Kim Bridgford's death in June 2020, the journal has been edited by Anna M. Evans.
History
The first issue of the journal came out in the summer of 2006. It was created in response to "the tendency that persists in academia of choosing the work of male poets to define a given era or literary style".{{cite web |url=http://www.fairfield.edu/cas/cas_news.html?id=2658 |title=Largest database of women poets to be launched in Washington, D.C. on March 27 |format= |work=Fairfield University College of Arts & Sciences News from the College of Arts & Sciences |accessdate=2010-08-05}}
Mezzo Cammin emerged from community of women poets at the West Chester University Poetry Conference. The magazine was also affiliated with Fairfield University early on.{{cite web |url=http://www.fairfield.edu/documents/currents/stories/09_03/cc_academic_mar09.html |title=Online journal popular with women poets |work=Fairfield University CURRENTS Online Edition |accessdate=2010-08-05}} In 2010, Kim Bridgford, Mezzo Cammin's editor in chief, became the director of the WCU Poetry Center 2010. The magazine affirmed its link with West Chester in its Fifth Anniversary Issue.
Women Poets Timeline Project
Launched on March 27 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC,{{cite web |url=http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Fairfield-University-professor-launches-database-418999.php |title=Fairfield University professor launches database of female poets |format= |work=Connecticut Post |accessdate=2010-08-05| date=2010-03-23}} the Mezzo Cammin Women Poets Timeline Project{{cite web |url=http://www.mezzocammin.com/timeline/timeline.php?vol=timeline&iss=1&cat=essays&page=home |title=The Mezzo Cammin Women Poets Timeline – Home |format= |work=Mezzo Cammin |accessdate=2010-08-05}} is expected to become the world's largest database of women poets.{{cite web |url=http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017962977?Largest%20Database%20Of%20Women's%20Poets%20To%20Launch%20In%20Washington%20On%20March%2027 |title=Largest Database Of Women's Poets To Launch In Washington On March 27 | AHN |format= |accessdate=2010-08-05}}{{cite web| url = https://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2010/03/mondays-art-notes-16.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100401150027/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2010/03/mondays-art-notes-16.html| archive-date = 2010-04-01| title = Art Beat {{!}} Monday's Art Notes {{!}} Online NewsHour {{!}} PBS}} The date of the launch was symbolically chosen to be at the end of Women's History Month, just before National Poetry Month.
The database started with information about 15 women poets, which will be expanded over time. The project will include biographical articles of the poets, including photographs and reprints of their work when possible. One of the early challenges of the project has been the obtaining of copyright permission for the republishing of works online.
See also
- New Formalism, the movement to revive formalism in poetry
- New Formalist, a literary journal devoted to all formalist poetry
References
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