The Sun

The Sun is the best literary magazine I have ever seen. The authors change with each issue, other than the editor's contributions, but the quality stays the same: Great!

There's a good mix of long and short works, and b & w photography, and my favorite part of the magazine is called Readers Write. They choose a subject for each issue (several months ahead of time) and all sorts of people send in their short pieces written with that topic in mind. They publish a good number of these, and it's always really engaging, fascinating, and human stuff. The Sun is one of the only magazines I've consistently read from cover to cover, every time.

The Sun is like a dear friend who comes to visit once a month. Make a pot of tea, sit down in a comfortable chair with a good reading light, stay there for the next few hours while you read it cover to cover. You might want to have a tissue or two handy: in almost every issue there is something that moves me to tears. (This month's Readers Write section on Apologies, for instance.) You might have a hankering to write an impassioned letter to the editor, arguing with the latest interview with some activist or teacher, or take a stab at your own Readers Write piece. (The upcoming subjects are listed several months in advance.)

There is nothing like The Sun. It's not for everybody. It may not be for you. It's certainly left of center politically. It's often dark many have accused it of sometimes having a sad or depressing tone. And sometimes it does. But life is sometimes dark. The Sun isn't afraid to look at all of life: darkness and light, peace and violence, birth and death, the spirit and the flesh. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, interviews, memoirs and essays, beautiful black and white photography, and not one single word of advertising. I've been a subscriber for the past fifteen years. I hope to keep renewing my subscription for another fifteen, and beyond.

Buy The Sun Now

I was introduced to The Sun through one of my old college professors. I took the magazine home and devoured every word from cover to cover. I then odered a subscription to the magazine, and have enjoyed and looked forward to each and every issue for the past two years. I enjoy reading the "readers write" section first and then the rest of the magazine. The magazine has served as a introduction to other authors that I have sought outside of the perameters of the magazine itself. If you enjoy reading thought provoking interviews in addition to well written short stories, then you should take a look at this magazine,it would well be worth the effort.

Read Best Reviews of The Sun Here

Sy Safransky's literary magazine is a monthly source of interesting fiction, poetry, photography, essays, memoirs and true stories, including a featured monthly interview. In black and white, with no advertisements (save in-house promotions), two years ago I would have given The Sun five stars, certainly, when I first subscribed and for years afterwards. I anxiously awaited each month's copy, which I read from cover to cover. The quality of writing is superior, the subjects topical and relevant and Safransky's devotion to this endeavor admirable. However, over the last two years I haven't been able to sustain the same level of interest, a fact which may have more to do with my reading preferences than the magazine. After eight years, I am sensing a lack of innovation in the stories. But for anyone who has not yet discovered The Sun, this format is refreshing, the concerns of the common man and an interest in our society and the world a breath of fresh air.

Another very popular feature is "Reader's Write", each month introducing a different topic, where readers are encouraged to send in their personal stories. Often this feature is the most provocative segment of the magazine, slices of everyday life without literary pretensions. Most, but not all, issues have a page of Safransky's personal notes, insights into the thinking of the man behind the scenes and a page of "Sunbeams", quotes relevant to each issue, also submitted by readers. Although the magazine is sometimes criticized in Letters to the Editor for its preoccupation with problems in the modern world, this is one of the few venues where readers and writers have such freedom of expression, the commonality of difficulties often a bridge to understanding. Beset on all sides by intrusive advertising, disguised agendas and the pandering to self-indulgence, The Sun's conscientious participation in society, fostering more fulfilling lives, is a forum that should be enthusiastically supported. Luan Gaines/ 2005.

Want The Sun Discount?

You will find this quote on the first page inside the front cover of every issue of this wonderful periodical. I savor every page of each issue I recieve. The photography is brilliant and thought-provoking. The short stories and poems are amazing. It sheds light into places where we have all been, but at a different angle. It shows a new perspective to things normal people endure and experience everyday. I absolutely love this magazine.