I was a pretty busy this weekend so I was a bit of bum as far as choosing a literary journal to read. I ended up reading an issue from 42opus, which is an online literary magazine. It is found at http://42opus.com and Theo has a link to it on the website. It publishes work in quarterly issues but new writing is always being added to the website. The issues that 42opus usually include short stories that are both fiction and nonfiction and then a selection of poems. The editors' goal in the magazine is to publish writing that can be new and exciting or writing that respects the literary history.
I read Vol. 8, No. 2. There were two fiction stories, a nonfiction stories, and then a bunch of poems. The subjects of the stories and poems were mostly about completely different things. There were some about nature, parenthood, loss of loved ones, and a few were about the writing process itself. Even though they were all very different there were a couple of common themes. One theme was the destruction of nature.
The writers themselves also varied a lot. The writers ranged from beginners with very few credentials to professors at universities to well known authors including Joseph Conrad (the author of Heart Of Darkness) and John Milton. I think this was a really good combination because there were a lot of different styles throughout the issue. One second your reading a contemporary poem and the next your reading something by John Milton. It kept me on my toes. Also I feel like this magazine is a good place for writers who are trying new things and different styles. Also many of the authors have been able to publish some of the same stories in Best New Poets and have received honors from the Million Writers Award for Fiction.
At first I was wary about using an online magazine, even though it's one that Theo recommends. I was afraid that a lot of the stuff that would be on there would just be a few stories written by someone that had no idea what they were doing. However, when I started reading it I was really impressed by what I was reading. Not only did the editors put in a nice mix of old and new stuff, but all of it was well written. Overall I was really impressed.