(Kathryn Lively is the award-winning author of Catholic mystery novels Saints Preserve Us (Wings, 2003), Pray for Us Sinners (forthcoming from Wings, 2005) and Pithed (forthcoming from Mundania Press, 2004). She is also the author of a forthcoming children's book about Blessed Miguel Pro. Excerpts of her fiction are available here.)
Though print periodicals devoted to Christian poetry and prose are not uncommon, such journals and magazines tend to devote their pages to works promoting and inspired by Evangelical Christianity.
This was one common thread among the resources author William Ferguson researched while seeking publication for his writing.
“Among Catholic writers, a frequent complaint is that there aren't enough, or sometimes any, venues for their work,” Ferguson said. “Secular publications and Protestant publications are never going to appreciate Catholic authors and poets the way we think they ought to. This world only grudgingly rewards what is good and true in literature.”
Rather than complain along with his colleagues, however, Ferguson decided to become part of the solution, namely to provide a venue for the Catholic fiction writer and poet through traditional means. “Through my involvement in the Catholic Writers Association and the Catholic Poetry [online Yahoo group], I saw that there was some very good poetry that wasn't getting the type of notice it deserved,” Ferguson said. “I decided to take the initiative and, not only fill a need for Catholic authors by providing a forum, but perform a ministry to those who will read the poetry that is published.”
Ferguson's “ministry,” The St. Linus Review, is scheduled to debut in the Fall of 2004 and will feature poetry and short fiction from new and established Catholic writers. Named for Ferguson's patron saint (“In my writing, I always try to work in mention of him. It's part of my devotion to the saint,” says Ferguson), The St. Linus Review will be offered as a semi-annual journal via subscription one edition in the fall and one in the spring. With success, Ferguson said he hopes to eventually expand publication to quarterly issues, some with themes, and sponsor related writing contests.
“My current plans are to give awards to the top two or three poets published, some sort of certificate, plaque, or small trophy and a small cash award,” Ferguson said. “Perhaps as time goes by we can do more.”
Ferguson plans to edit and front the costs of the inaugural issue on his own. His marketing plan includes not only a push to attract subscribers, but distribution through Catholic organizations and libraries. “I include Newman Centers and shelters [on that list] because it's not just about publishing a magazine for its own sake, it's about ministry,” Ferguson said. “I'm doing it so Catholics can read good Catholic poetry and come closer to Our Lord in doing so.”
The St. Linus Review does not mark Ferguson's first foray into the world of publishing. An experienced journalist, Ferguson operated a now-defunct website called Catholic News Daily, designed to inform Catholic Internet users of current Catholic news, commentary, and arts. Ferguson featured his own poetry on the site, even though he believed “the traditional print medium is better suited to poetry.” In November 2002, Ferguson published via Writers Club Press Jonah Christopher and the Last Chance Mass, an adventurous Catholic novel for young adult readers. In addition to publishing The St. Linus Review, Ferguson is currently writing the sequel to Jonah Christopher. His love for poetry, however, is not slighted by other projects.
“I spend probably a week on a poem. Looking at a poem on different days of the week gives me the opportunity to see how it reads in different moods and to edit it in different moods,” said Ferguson.
As for what Ferguson expects from Catholic writers interested in submitting to the Review, he is quite open. “I'm hoping we get poetry in a lot of different styles,” he said. “Free verse is very popular, but I'm hoping to receive verse in some of the more structured styles as well.”
Ferguson's only requirement for submission is that all work must be in full communion with the Magisterium nothing that detracts from the Faith or is laden with profanity will be considered. “I hope there will be a diversity of subject matter,” Ferguson added. “Poems don't have to be hymns or strictly about high Church issues, but should touch in some way on one's life as a Catholic.”