The Quirk is a for-charity literary and arts print-only magazine. In all its various incarnations, it has raised over $3,000 for good causes around the world. Contributors have included or will include some of the best writers and artists in the small and large presses, such as Pulitzer Prize winners Robert Bly, Yusef Komunyakaa, and W.D. Snodgrass, as well as Naomi Shihab Nye, Alan Catlin, Alberto Rios, Alicia Ostriker, Don Winter, Gerald Locklin, Dee Rimbaud, Christopher Cunningham, Antler, Michael Kriesel, Diane di Prima, William Schaff, Jennifer Michael Hecht, T. Kilgore Splake, Jim Daniels, Dorianne Laux, and many others. The Quirk is based in Indiana, and is editted by Kaveh Akbar and Erik Scott. They are currently working on the construction of Issue Two, which is now available for pre-order.



Just received The Quirk no.1 - amazing! Truly, a superb job! I read a lot of small press journals, but this has to be one of the best debuts in small press history. Great poems, great interview, reviews, all round great variety. Keep it going! - Glenn W. Cooper

Received The Quirk today. Excellent job. Put together by people who really love what they are doing. Art is terrific and content very important - very impressive content. - Raymond Hammond

Youve sort of jumped to the head of the class. I expected the poetry to be first-rate with the cast of writers you put together, but the presentation is awesome. Beautiful, really. Seriously, I loved it. David J. Thompson

Just got my Quirk. Quite possibly the most impressive po-zine I'v ever seen. Well done! - Clayton Michaels

First Quirk's arrived, and what a great job. You guys really shined on this, all the way thru. The production is top notch, the poetry selection very strong... The layout was dynamite, the touch of humor appreciated. Good show guys, really, and I can't wait for issue #2. - Christopher Cunningham

"Your new journal is a work of genius a goddamn Woodstock of poetry" - Don Winter

"With The Quirk, there is a birth, a rebirth of sort, and it puts the other journals on notice - there is a new sheriff in town." - Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal

"Possibly one of the best lineups for a first issue I've seen." -J.J. Campbell

After a fast lit-perusing, it was easy to see that you have raised the bar a notch or three for a first edition of a small press production. Tough on you guys, because with the quality and creativeness demonstrated in No.1, we will expect the second copy to be as excellent or better whatever the format, I like to see a good balance of poetry, short writings and artwork, photos or black-ink-line artistry, and, goddamn, I would say you nailed and them some. - T. Kilgore Splake

You did a great job on The Quirk. Clearly this took a long time to assemble; the range of writing and content is impressive for any small press magazine, not to mention a first publication. Thank you for making this happen and for making it such a wonderful home for the word. Is there any major writer that you missed?" - Charles P. Ries

Featured Content

Antler is the former Poet Laureate of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Allen Ginsberg called him "one of Whitman's 'poets and orators to come'"... MORE

William Schaff has had created album art for many of today's top independent music acts. His work has been featured in countless journals, both in America and abroad... MORE

T. Kilgore Splake is the author of many collections of poetry, broadsides, and DVD poetry performances. He is the editor of Cliffs Soundings... MORE

Hannah Karina is a highly talented young Canadian graphic artist... MORE

Alberto Ros's latest collection of poems is The Theater of Night. A recent finalist for the National Book Award, Ros has taught at Arizona State University for 25 years... MORE