Originally Posted: Jan. 1, 2019
Under the leadership of Professor Greg Brownderville, Southwest Review continues to embrace new voices while recognizing a rich history.
I recently took over the editorship of America’s third-longest-running literary quarterly, Southwest Review (SwR), which was founded in 1915 and is published under the aegis of Southern Methodist University. As the new editor, I’m determined to broaden the magazine’s reach and readership, and I aim to start right here at home, with the SMU community. Let me paint you a picture of what SwR has been and what it is rapidly becoming.
The last issue of 2017 marked an important event in the history of the magazine: our first redesign and relaunch since the 1980s. We enlisted the help of a firm called Pentagram—in particular the award-winning Austin designer Julie Savasky. We are delighted with the new look and feel, and we think you will be, too. Last week saw another landmark moment for SwR: we made our digital debut with SouthwestReview.com, a full-scale website with exclusive text, art, photography, video, and audio. Visually the website is modeled after Savasky’s beautiful designs for the print edition, and the content mixes literary gravitas with a keen sense of fun and aesthetic daring. In other words, we are moving forward, not resting on our laurels. READ MORE