New Letters (magazine) - History & Editors

History & Editors

The University Review was founded in 1934 at the University of Kansas City, a small, private school that later became part of the University of Missouri system. In its first two years, the periodical published a discussion on "Art and Social Struggle", including contributions from Thomas Hart Benton and Diego Rivera, a story by Vance Randolph, a poem by Edgar Lee Masters, and a personal note from Pearl S. Buck.

Starting with the Spring 1938 issue, Alexander P. Cappon became editor and remained in that post for the next 33 years. In 1944 the magazine's name was changed to The University of Kansas City Review. In that time the magazine published work by May Sarton, J.D. Salinger, E.E. Cummings, Marianne Moore, May Swenson, James T. Farrell, Kenneth Rexroth.

In 1971, David Ray took over as editor and the magazine's name was changed again, this time to New Letters. Ray published work by Robert Bly, Cyrus Colter, Anselm Hollo, Joyce Carol Oates, Richard Hugo, Robert Peters and Josephine Jacobsen.

In 1986, James McKinley became editor, and under his editorship the magazine published new work by Amiri Baraka, Thomas Berger, former President Jimmy Carter, Annie Dillard, Tess Gallagher, William Gass, Charles Simic, John Updike, and Miller Williams.

Robert Stewart took over the post of editor-in-chief for New Letters, New Letters on the Air, and their affiliate, BkMk Press in September 2002. Since becoming editor, the magazine has published such writers as Brian Doyle, Quincy Troupe, Daniel Woodrell, Sherman Alexie, Marilyn Hacker, Maxine Kumin and Charlotte Holmes.

New Letters won the National Magazine Award for the essay on May 1, 2008 at Lincoln Center in New York. The essay "I Am Joe's Prostate" by Thomas E. Kennedy appears in Volume 73, Issue 4.