Sensations Magazine
Issue 2: Released
January 30, 1989
(Produced 1988;
click on cover for
larger version)
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1988
"Welcome to the first poetry reading sponsored by Sensations Magazine."
In 1988, Sensations Magazine launched its Creative Events
Series: a travelling poetry reading series that continues to this day.
The goal was to provide writers with the opportunity to be published in print,
and to give them the opportunity to read their work in public in a
supportive, non-smoking environment. Turns out we were 20 years ahead
of our time: New Jersey signed a ban on smoking in indoor public places as
of April 15, 2006.
The Sensations Magazine Creative Events Series was a
refreshing alternative to the New Jersey poetry scene circa 1988: some
literary prima donnas "controlling" who could read and who could not read
publicly in a handful of New Jersey venues on the one hand, or the opportunity
to read in a smoke-filled bar on the other hand. (Barnes & Noble and
Borders had not arrived yet.) Among our earliest readings was one in the
tatami room of Japanese Restaurant Sukeroku in Little Falls, New Jersey:
definitely a change of pace.
Sensations Magazine secured its first listing in Poet's
Market, and in 1988 began production on its second issue, including a full-color
front cover (a photograph of a cat sunning itself on a porch, taken in Germany
in 1985, that was mass-printed and hand-taped to each cover). The 32-page
issue was printed single-sided (but not on acid-free paper, a mistake we regret
today), and a VeloBind strip was used to bind the final result - a process used
on all but one of our issues thus far. The price was $4/copy, including postage.
Some highlights from Issue 2:
 | Poets published in 1988 (5): Brenda Clark, J. Anthony Heck, Matthew Holbrook,
Angelo Mazza, and David Messineo |
| Fiction writers published in 1988 (3): Barbara Bell-Valletto,
Patricia Flinn, and John
H. Wilson |
| Line art by Christopher Bing, Brenda Clark, Eileen Tronolone |
Beginning with Issue 2, our triumvirate of Fiction Editors was
established: Marilyn Hartl, Maggie Reilly, and Dorian Tenore. The
three would judge fiction for Issues 2 through 12. (Maggie would continue
through our Summer 2002 History Issue; Marilyn would continue to the present
day.) Matthew Holbrook joined David Messineo as a Poetry Editor, and
served in that capacity through Issue 8 in late 1992.
So by the release of Issue 2 on January 30, 1989, Sensations
Magazine has already developed a form-oriented poetry and fiction critiquing
process; a staff of 2-3 Fiction Editors; a team of 1-2 Poetry Editors, a
rotating set of talented guest artists and photographers; a process of printing,
hand-collating, and binding the publication with a VeloBind process; and a
poetry reading series - all similar to our operations today, close to 20 years
later.
(Above) Word about Sensations Magazine starts getting around,
as Issue 1 makes its way to all seven continents. The Publisher
provides a welcoming greeting
in front of the Sensations store
in Atlantic City, NJ. The store closes; Sensations Magazine continues.
(Above) Marilyn Hartl at Paterson Falls, 1988. From Issue 2
forward, Marilyn would judge fiction for every Sensations Magazine issue,
bringing continuity, control, and detailed editorial feedback to aid fiction
writers in improving their work, for 20+ years.
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