Blackbird: an online journal of literature and the arts offers visitors from around the world outstanding fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and reviews, as well as plays, visual art, new media, and video essays, which we present in inventive arrangements with an eye toward revealing the process of their creation.
We believe that contributors should be paid—as a gesture of respect—as we endeavor to give their work and their lives as artists our sustained support and attention by taking note of their ongoing accomplishments.
What’s in a name? Our title arises from a triple mindfulness. First, it is a respectful nod toward a famed former resident of our city who penned a poem haunted by a talking bird repeating a single ominous word; second, it recognizes that tradition and innovation always share a dynamic space, that “when the river is moving the blackbird must be flying”; and finally, it recalls a well-known song in which a blackbird must take its broken wings and learn to fly. The Blackbird aesthetic aims to be large-minded and adventurous. Poe, Stevens, the Beatles—these iconic figures represent a broadly encompassing, evolving awareness that we embody in our journal. 