The search for truth and beauty leads to the cobbled
roundabouts of old Annapolis, where it is still easier to
commute with oars than a coupe. Meeting at watering holes
on Maryland Avenue, West Street and State Circle, founder
Hal Burdett and editors J. Wesley Clark and Barrett Warner
have created Free State Review.
The literary journal appears twice yearly in print.
Our focus is place and experience. We look for authors who
live the poem—story—essay before they write it. Whether our
contributors walk or drive, or ride a M2 Bradley, or a
skateboard to work and love, we want some glimpse
of a genuine moment in this high concept world, reflected
pieces on the real.
We’re looking for engagement and grace. You want to write
about death? OK, but you’ll have had to snuggle up a little
closer to it than hitting some poor squirrel on your way to
Starbucks. Know the world that lives and breathes inside your
art, don’t just open a window and let us guess. In fact, if you
open a window, stick your head out and scream a song into
the wind—a velvety baritone works well.
Free State Review is a literary journal that comes out every 8 months. Want to know what we're into? Peruse our site and/or order a copy, then hit us up!