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About This Journal

The Prose Poem: An International Journal began publication in 1992 as an anthology of prose poetry from around the world. Edited by Peter Johnson, Professor of English at Providence College, Providence, RI, nine volumes of The Prose Poem were published over the next decade. A collected volume, The Best Of The Prose Poem: An International Journal, was published in 2000 by Providence College and White Pine Press. The Prose Poem ceased publication in 2000.

In his introduction to Volume One, Peter Johnson wrote:

So what is prose poetry? To me, it has affinities with black humor. Just as black humor straddles the fine line between comedy and tragedy, so the prose poem plants one foot in prose, the other in poetry, both heels resting precariously on banana peels. Prose poets, no matter how different in sensibilities, wander on this uncertain terrain. It's a land of paradoxes and oxymorons, welcoming the sleight of word artist.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, this verbal trickery sometimes makes a critical appreciation of prose poetry difficult. I remember a critic who once described a particularly troublesome and bleak novel as a "celebration of nihilism." Although I was intellectually pleased by such an elusive oxymoron, I also felt "had," somehow seduced by language. After all, the easiest way to describe something is to say it's everything.

My goal in The Prose Poem: An International Journal is to enlarge, not limit, the possibilities of the prose poem, and, like all editors, I've had to trust my instincts.

This electronic version of The Prose Poem will publish the material that appeared during the journal's original nine volume run as a part of the Providence College Digital Commons.

The Prose Poem is no longer soliciting submissions for publication. For any questions on the original print version of the journal please contact Peter Johnson at

For any questions on the electronic version of The Prose Poem, about the Providence College Digital Commons, or other Providence College digital projects, please contact the staff in Digital Projects & Metadata at: