10 years of poems from ‘Paradise Valley’

Valparaiso University’s online literary journal is celebrating its first 10 years with the publication of an anthology featuring works by 50 prominent poets that have appeared in the journal.

“Poetry from Paradise Valley” includes poems by a former Poet Laureate of the United States, a Griffin International Prize winner, two Pulitzer Prize winners, two National Book Award winners, two National Book Critics Circle winners, and several finalists for those awards.

Journal editor Edward Byrne, professor of English, said Valparaiso Poetry Review and its editor’s blog cumulatively reach an audience of hundreds of thousands of people annually. He noted that in just the past two years, approximately two dozen works appearing in the journal have received nominations for national literary awards, including the Pushcart Prize, and six have won.

“The growth of readership and the widespread recognition for the quality of work published in Valparaiso Poetry Review have been among the most rewarding aspects I have witnessed,” Byrne said. “The growing reputation of Valparaiso Poetry Review has enhanced the status of Valparaiso University and the English department nationally, especially in literary circles. I don’t think there is another undergraduate English department creative writing program that has published anything comparable to the new book.”

Byrne also noted that the success of Valparaiso Poetry Review has introduced many well-known literary figures to Valpo. A number of poets whose work has been published later visited campus for public presentations and meetings with students exploring creative writing and literature.

“Poetry from Paradise Valley” can be ordered at library.stmarytx.edu/pgpress/authors/editor_edward_byrne/index.html.

Valparaiso Poetry Review can be read online at www.valpo.edu/english/vpr and is complemented by the “One Poet’s Notes” editor’s blog at www.edwardbyrne.blogspot.com, which features regular postings about notable recent books of poetry and general poetry news.