Hummingbird: Magazine of the Short Poem celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. It was founded in a very different era -- when poetry magazines were all printed on paper, when every set of submission guidelines mentioned a SASE, when the internet was more idea than reality. Hummingbird held its own against time and technology, and it's still going strong as a print journal today.
Editor CX Dillhunt was kind enough to send me a copy of the current issue, XXX #2. It's the second of two 2020 anniversary issues, and the inside cover is stamped with a commemorative "30th Anniversary" design.
In terms of appearances, Hummingbird is exceptionally well-produced. Cardstock cover, high-quality paper, and (perhaps best of all) plenty of white space around each poem.
This issue contains many good poems, spread over 46 pages. The poems vary widely in form and style -- a series of vertical poems by John Burgess, a pantry inventory turned poem, a morbid couplet by Dion Kempthorne, and several haiku scattered throughout.
Phil Travis' "floating the deschutes" stands out as the best poem of the issue -- a light one-liner that fills the page, both in form and impact.
I highly recommend this issue to any fan of short poetry, haiku, or just good poetry in general. A single issue of Hummingbird can be purchased for $5, or subscribe for a year (2 issues) for $10.
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