Painted Bride Quarterly ("PBQ") is a Philadelphia-based literary magazine.
Established in 1973 by Louise Simons and R. Daniel Evans, the magazine is based in Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. It is staffed by a mix of volunteer editors and changing student staff. The magazine is published quarterly online and yearly in print.
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Louis McKee is a former editor.
What sets us apart from the rest of the literary magazines is this: We combine the know-how of the senior editors with the fresh perspective of interns and make certain that no one opinion is superior to the rest. It also doesn't hurt that PBQ operates with a dual city editorial staff in both Philadelphia and New York, where we strive to enrich both communities with different writer outreach programs and events. A literary forum for poetry, fiction, prose, essays, interviews and photography, PBQ has featured works by such poets as Charles Bukowski, Etheridge Knight, Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Beraka, Simon Perchik, Yusef Komunyakaa, Gregory Pardlo, and Major Jackson, among others.
The year 1971, is often referred to as the capstone year of the “hippie” age, art, theatre, political movements and rock & roll. It was also the summer of love in the City of Brotherly Love, and Gerry Givnish and a group of his artist friends found a gallery space on Philly’s infamous South Street in the form of an old bridal shop. The cooperative gallery began a cultural revolution in the area. Soon, dozens of art galleries blossomed, but none as provocative, daring or enduring as theirs.
The group of artists staked their claim on their patch of street with a window display. Among the remains of the bridal shop was a mannequin, made up for some hellish ‘60s wedding she would never attend. The artists took her straight to the storefront to cause a scene, but not in a typical virginal, white wedding gown. Soon, the “Painted Bride” became a South Street attraction. People would stop by just to see what provocative outfit or lewd position she’d be in that day. She was the icon and namesake of the art center that, in 1973, gave birth to Painted Bride Quarterly.
PBQ is the only magazine of its longevity to have a complete archive of its history available online.
PBQ holds interactive prose and poetry events to make its presence known in the Philadelphia area. On the last Thursday of the month, PBQ hosts a poetry slam at the Pen & Pencil Club called “Slam, Bam, Thank You, Ma’am.”. Monthly poetry readings are held in both Philadelphia and New York, featuring local poets and musicians.
On May 13, 2009, PBQ held its first annual Bookfair for Literacy, raising funds for Philadelphia Reads and donating remaining books to Books Through Bars. More than twenty regional presses and literary magazines attended and sold their wares at below costs. For a few months prior to the event, books were donated by members of the Drexel community, and then sold with all proceeds going to Philadelphia Reads. The Second Annual Bookfair for Literacy was held on Friday, May 21, 2010.
PBQ has had many of its first-published poems chosen for Pushcart Prizes, on Poetry Daily, and other accolades, such as inclusion in Online Writing: The Best of the First Ten Years.
On May 17, 2007, PBQ hosted novelists Rick Moody and Heather McGowan, as well as the Wingdale Community singers at the World Café. On May 11, 2006 Drexel sponsored their first annual fundraising event: A dinner for PBQ and a lecture/performance by singer/songwriter/author Rosanne Cash and music critic/author Anthony DeCurtis. This event was a tremendous success, selling out a three-hundred seat venue, raising funds for PBQ, garnering press and grafting a number of very important worlds, PBQ’s own audience, Drexel’s literati and luminaries, Cash and DeCurtis’s fan base, and the Philadelphia public.