We’re pleased to announce the new Arts and Culture department of Commons Magazine, where we will amplify our coverage of creative work in all disciplines. With a special emphasis on artists, writers, performers, and collectives who blur the lines between art making, personal activism, and community involvement, we seek to show how art can help us dissolve lines of class and geography and create a context for renewing our sense of belonging in the diverse global community. After all, when art and culture open a window to the wider world, we can more clearly see all that we share—the commons.
Commons Magazine will launch its new arts and culture coverage with UNCOMMON/WORDS, a monthly poetry column featuring commons-inspired work from poets across the world. We seek contemporary poetry in all genres and will present a new poet each month. Learn more about submitting your work for publication here.
Commons Magazine is also thrilled to announce our team of advisers who have generously agreed to guide UNCOMMON/WORDS. The team includes poets Sarah Browning, Douglas Kearney, Juliet Patterson, and Crystal Ann Williams. You can learn more about our poet advisors here. Over the coming months we will feature work by each of these fine writers who inhabit the vanguard of contemporary poetry.
This month we will begin by showcasing the thoughts of Sarah Browning. According to Browning, “Poetry in all its variety, idiosyncrasy, and wild creativity also wakes us up to the richness and power of our language which belongs to everyone.”
Poetry can play an instrumental role in bringing deeper understanding and visibility to the commons movement. We hope that UNCOMMON/WORDS will bring the work and vision of poets like Sarah to a wider audience.
