The Quarterly

The Quarterly was an avant-garde literary magazine founded and edited by Gordon Lish and published in New York City by Vintage Books, an imprint associated with Random House. It appeared between 1987 and 1995 under the subtitle “The Magazine of New American Writing,” presenting fiction, poetry, commentary, and related work by contemporary American writers. The publication was closely identified with Lish’s editorial interests and with the experimental literary culture of the late twentieth-century United States. The magazine began with Volume 1 in Spring 1987 and adopted a quarterly publishing pattern, although its issues were identified primarily by volume and season. Its early contents brought together emerging and established writers, including Amy Hempel, Tom Spanbauer, Matthew Levine, Jane Smiley, Jack Gilbert, Harold Brodkey, Patty Marx, Noy Holland, Mark Richard, Nancy Lemann, Ann Pyne, Paulette Jiles, Rick Bass, Diane Williams, Patrick McGrath, Sheila Kohler, and others. The range of contributors reflected the publication’s interest in new voices, formally adventurous prose, poetry, and literary commentary rather than in a single narrowly defined genre. The Quarterly’s editorial identity was rooted in contemporary writing rather than mass-market circulation. Its association with Gordon Lish placed it within a literary network known for close attention to style, compression, narrative construction, and experimental approaches to fiction. The magazine served as a venue in which writers could publish work that might not fit the conventions of mainstream commercial periodicals. Across its run, it combined fiction and poetry with commentary, maintaining a profile as a curated literary publication rather than a general-interest magazine. The first six volumes were published from Spring 1987 through Summer 1988. The magazine continued through Volume 31, which appeared in Fall 1995 and marked the end of publication. No evidence in the supplied reference material indicates that the title continued under another publisher, returned in a later series, or maintained an active digital edition. It is therefore best understood as a defunct literary magazine brand whose principal historical significance lies in its role as a platform for contemporary and experimental American writing during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The Quarterly was established in 1987 as an avant-garde literary magazine founded and edited by Gordon Lish. It was published in New York City by Vintage Books, a Random House imprint, and carried the descriptive subtitle “The Magazine of New American Writing.” Its editorial program centered on contemporary literary work, including fiction, poetry, and commentary, with an emphasis on writers and approaches associated with experimental or formally distinctive American writing. The first issue was Volume 1, released in Spring 1987. The opening volume included work by Amy Hempel, Tom Spanbauer, Matthew Levine, Jane Smiley, Jack Gilbert, Harold Brodkey, Patty Marx, and other contributors. Subsequent volumes broadened the magazine’s roster. Volume 2, published in Summer 1987, featured writers including Noy Holland, Mark Richard, Nancy Lemann, Ann Pyne, Jack Gilbert, Paulette Jiles, and Rick Bass. Volume 3 followed in Fall 1987 with contributions from Mark Richard, Hellen Schulman, Ted Pejovich, Sunny Rogers, Ann Pyne, Diane Williams, and Rick Bass. Volume 4, issued in Winter 1987, included Sharon Dupree, Mark Richard, Michael Hickins, Yannick Murphy, Patrick McGrath, Jan Pendleton, Rebecca Bondor, George Angel, and Stephen O’Connor. The magazine continued its quarterly sequence into 1988. Volume 5, published in Spring 1988, presented work by Jennifer Allen, William Tester, Janet Mitchell, Sharon Dupree, Robert Fox, and Sheila Kohler, among others. Volume 6 appeared in Summer 1988 and included Ann Pyne, Jan Pendleton, Victor Barall, Jennifer Allen, Harold Brodkey, and M. D. Stein. These early issues demonstrate the publication’s practice of combining recurring contributors with newer or less widely known writers, while maintaining a broad interpretation of contemporary American writing. The Quarterly continued publication through the early and mid-1990s. Its run ended with Volume 31, released in Fall 1995. The available reference material does not identify a specific commercial or editorial event that caused the closure, and no later revival is documented. The publication is consequently remembered as a finite literary magazine series rather than an ongoing periodical. Its historical identity rests on Gordon Lish’s editorship, its Vintage Books and Random House publishing context, and its presentation of fiction, poetry, and commentary by a wide range of contemporary writers.

• 1995

  The magazine ends with Volume 31

  [1]The Quarterlyen.wikipedia.org

  The Quarterly ceased publication after Volume 31, issued in Fall 1995.

• 1988

  Publication continues through Volume 6

  [1]The Quarterlyen.wikipedia.org

  Volumes 5 and 6 appeared in Spring and Summer 1988, continuing the magazine’s presentation of contemporary fiction, poetry, and related literary work.

• 1987

  The Quarterly is founded

  [1]The Quarterlyen.wikipedia.org

  Gordon Lish founded and began editing The Quarterly as an avant-garde literary magazine published by Vintage Books in New York City.

• 1987

  Volume 1 launches

  [1]The Quarterlyen.wikipedia.org

  The inaugural volume appeared in Spring 1987 under the subtitle “The Magazine of New American Writing,” featuring fiction and other work by writers including Amy Hempel, Tom Spanbauer, Jane Smiley, and Harold Brodkey.

• 1987

  Volumes 2 through 4 are published

  [1]The Quarterlyen.wikipedia.org

  The magazine released additional seasonal volumes in Summer, Fall, and Winter 1987, expanding its contributor roster to include writers such as Noy Holland, Mark Richard, Rick Bass, Diane Williams, Patrick McGrath, and others.

An avant-garde, editor-led literary magazine presenting contemporary and experimental American writing to a serious literary readership.

• Literary magazine · 1987

  The Quarterly

  The publication’s principal product was a print literary magazine issued by volume and season. It carried fiction, poetry, and commentary by contemporary writers, and was presented under the subtitle “The Magazine of New American Writing.” The magazine’s curated contributor lists and association with editor Gordon Lish gave it an avant-garde and editor-driven identity. The series ran from Volume 1 in Spring 1987 through Volume 31 in Fall 1995.

1. 1The Quarterlyen.wikipedia.org