Sensations Magazine
Issue 4:  Released
December 1, 1990

1990

A debate about the beginning of American poetry launches the "Rediscovering America in Poetry" research series which, over the course of 10 years, republishes 600 poems written from 1565 to 1700

"What would you consider to be the beginning of American poetry?" I had asked a friend.

"Anne Bradstreet is considered the Mother of American Poetry, and Edward Taylor was writing around the same time.  So I'd say 1630s."

"But the oldest settlement in America was St. Augustine, Florida, and that was established in 1566," I countered.  "Perhaps the first poems written about America are not written in English, but in Spanish."

I didn't know about Fort Caroline, Florida then (established 1565), but the conversation had piqued my interest enough to begin exploring the beginning of American poetry.  It would lead to a passion for 16th and 17th century American poetry that would be a part of my life for over ten years.

As it turned out, Nicolas LeChalleux of Fort Caroline, Florida, wrote two poems about his experiences in Florida, once he returned to France.  They are the earliest poems written from a Western European experience, about incidents that took place in what is now the continental United States.  We republished his 1565 poems in 1990, gave our issue cover the caption "Celebrating the 425th Anniversary of American Poetry" - and began the unique blend of poetry, fiction, and research that would define Sensations Magazine in tone and style for years to come.

We began the process of securing university library subscriptions, and secured Brown University, New York Public Library, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison as active subscribers (continuing to this day), with additional prestigious libraries joining them in succeeding years.

Exciting additional voices in poetry and fiction joined our existing group of writers, lifting us to a new, higher level of overall writing quality.

Issue 4 also brought improvements in typesetting and production quality:  improved design with a standardized masthead, full-color copier reproduction on both the front and back covers, printing on acid-free paper - even paid advertising (one of only two issues to include that). 

Some highlights of Issue 4:

The then-ambitious 70-page Issue 4 still stands up well after many years.  I am still considering a second printing of this issue, with some design changes, at a future time.

Issue 4, 1990, would remain the largest Sensations Magazine issue until the release of Issue 9 in 1993.

(Above) Deb Wunder assists in hand-collating Issue 4 in Secaucus, NJ - a process of "personal touch" to every page of every issue except one - and a process which continues today

(Above) Publisher David Messineo in front of Stevens Memorial Library, Worchester, MA - one of the many libraries used in the process of researching the Rediscovering America in Poetry Series for Sensations Magazine