All politics is local, according to Tip O’Neill. The same may be said for the poetry being written in New Jersey and elsewhere. Evidence of the local angle in contemporary poetry can be found in the new issue of EXIT 13 Magazine, an annual journal that is published in Fanwood.
"Some special locales in the new issue include a diner on Route 22, the Great Falls of Paterson, an Ocean Beach bungalow, Shea Stadium, a music festival in Asbury Park, and a wrestling match in Mongolia," said Tom Plante, who has published Exit 13 Magazine since 1988. "The poets share their experiences in all sorts of places and focus on where and how we live."
The 16th issue of EXIT 13 Magazine includes 51 poets and several photographers, including 24 New Jersey writers. Among the local poets in the new installment are: Adele Kenny of Fanwood, Bruce Lowry of Summit, Linda Radice of North Plainfield, Liza Katz of Fanwood, Paul Sohar of Warren, Gary Szelc of Fanwood, Bob Rosenbloom of Bound Brook, Kathy Brozyna of Madison, and Tom Plante of Fanwood.
Other Garden State contributors include D.E. Steward of Princeton, Nancy Scott of Lawrenceville, Sander Zulauf of Andover, Ellen June Wright of Hackensack, Maxine Susman of Highland Park, John Smith of Frenchtown, John Petrolino of Middletown, Kathe Palka of Flemington, David Crews of Basking Ridge, Ann Malaspina of Ridgewood, Jerome Leary of Red Bank, Carrie McLeod Howson of West Orange, Mark Hillringhouse of Englewood, Catherine Doty of Boonton, and Christine Redman-Waldeyer of Manasquan.
EXIT 13 Magazine features poets of all ages, writing styles and degrees of experience. The emphasis is on geography, travel, adventure and the fertile ground of the imagination. It’s a travelogue in poetry, a reflection of the world we see, and a chronicle of the people we meet along the way.
Editor Tom Plante named the magazine after the Elizabeth exit off the New Jersey Turnpike. He has assembled EXIT 13 Magazine in Fanwood since 1988, the year that he and his wife moved out of the Elmora section of Elizabeth. The poetry journal features snapshots of Exit 13 road signs contributed by correspondents. Plante sends a copy of the magazine to each photographer whose work is published.
EXIT 13 Magazine, number 16, is available for $8.00 from EXIT 13 Magazine, PO Box 423, Fanwood, New Jersey 07023. EXIT 13 is included in the library collections at Rutgers University, the Somerset County Library, Brown University, the State University of New York at Buffalo, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and the New York Public Library.
For more information, contact Tom Plante by email at: Exit13magazine@yahoo.com. Poetry submissions by email should be typed into the body of the email. Photos of Exit 13 road signs are welcome.