The Nashwaak Review
The Nashwaak Review is a journal of poetry, prose, photography, art, and scholarship. Its first issue was released in the fall of 1994. As of March 2010, twenty-three volumes have been published. The Nashwaak Review was originally published twice a year; however, now it is published as one double issue per year. It is published with the financial support of St. Thomas University, which covers all printing costs (Gallagher).
The first and all subsequent volumes of The Nashwaak Review were edited by Stewart Donovan, with help from his colleges in the St. Thomas English Department. Among the managing editors of the past are Tony Tremblay, Dennis Desroches, and Lissa Beauchamp.
The Nashwaak Review features the art of living artists on its cover. Donovan has admitted that he never wanted the covers of The Nashwaak Review to have an industrial look. As a result the art is varied and often vibrant.
The cover of Volume 1 Number 1 showcased a painting by Fredericton artist Bruno Bobak. Other notable covers featured work by Bathurst-born Bernard Riordon and Hotel Bedroom by Lucian Freud (the grandson of Sigmund Freud), whose work hangs in Fredericton's Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
The impetus for the creation of The Nashwaak Review came from Donovan’s experiences with R.J MacSween, the founder of The Antigonish Review, and George Sanderson, the long-time editor of The Antigonish Review.
According to Donovan, the purpose for The Nashwaak Review is “to give young writers a start and to show that we have an intellectual and cultural community interested in engaging readers both inside and outside of academia” (Interview with author, 26 Feb. 2010). The official page for The Nashwaak Review on the St. Thomas University website states:
Since our founding in 1994, we have been a venue for new and established artists, reviewers and critics throughout Canada. We list, among our contributors, such luminaries as the late Louis Dudek, David Adams Richards, Karen Connolly, Fred Cogswell, Stephen Heighton, George Elliot Clarke, Ann Copeland, and Ken Norris.
The Nashwaak Review has showcased authors, essayists, and artists from Canada and around the globe. Content in The Nashwaak Review is as varied as its contributors. This content favors poetry; however, the magazine often includes fiction, photography, and critical reviews as well. Much of the content derives from the Maritime historical and cultural perspectives.
A distinguishing feature of the magazine is its travel section. In volume 20/21, for example, the travel section consisted of articles about St John's, Newfoundland; Hanoi, Vietnam; India; Madagascar; and Paris, France. The purpose of this section, according to Donovan, is to give a nod to such writers as Bruce Chatwin and Dervla Murphy, great writers whose body of work is based in travel narratives (Interview with the editor, 4 April 2010).
The Nashwaak Review has published special issues on Irish history, Acadian history, and Aboriginal history and culture.
Prominent New Brunswick writers who have had work in The Nashwaak Review include Fred Cogswell (poetry); Wayne Curtis (essays and short stories); and David Adams Richards (poetry and essay).
The Nashwaak Review is a place for people of varied disciplines to write and read about matters relating to the Maritimes and the world.
Richard Harris, Spring 2010
St. Thomas University
Bibliography of Primary Sources
The Nashwaak Review # 1-23. (Fall 1994-Spring/Summer 2009).
Bibliography of Secondary Sources
Donovan, Stewart. Personal Interview. 26 Feb. 2010.
---. Personal Interview. 4 Apr. 2010.
Gallagher, Lori. “STU's Nashwaak Review Has an International Readership.” The Daily Gleaner [Fredericton, NB] 10 Apr. 2010.
“Nashwaak Review.” St. Thomas University. 2005. 1 Mar. 2010
<https://www.stu.ca/english/the-nashwaak-review/>.