Southern Ocean Review: The Final Issue

The 50th issue of Southern Ocean Review, which has just been posted, is also the last issue.

Every three months for over a dozen years, on the 12th of the month, editor Trevor Reeves has got an issue of Southern Ocean Review on line. I don't know whether that sounds like much of an achievement to you, but to me, that shows an incredible level of dedication to the task in hand.

But I don't mean to imply that Southern Ocean Review has been notable only for the regularity with which it has been produced. Take a look at the roster of contributors to the current issue and you'll see that there's a mixture of lesser- and better-known writers. This has been true throughout the magazine's history.

SoR has always been a hospitable place for new writers to find their feet. My first contributions to it appeared in Issue 6, and I had a couple more stories and several poems appearing there over the years, with my most recent contribution being in Issue 48.

In addition, each issue of SoR has carried a series of short reviews of New Zealand books and literary magazines - the final issue's review column includes a review of JAAM 26, which Helen Rickerby has blogged about. This review column has probably carried the most comprehensive reviews of New Zealand literary publications, and in particular, small press publications, during the last dozen or so years.

So I'll be sorry to see Southern Ocean Review go, but I also hope its closure will free up more time for Trevor's own writing. I'm going to interview Trevor within the next couple of months on this blog, so I'm looking forward to that opportunity to find out what he has in mind.

In the meantime, do check out Southern Ocean Review while you have the chance.