Welcome to the NVQ archive

Not Very Quiet: the anthology

A selection of poems from our first eight issues in print on paper format published by Recent Work Press. Order from Recent Work Press.

Black and white image of a woman in early 20th century clothing with a megaphone standing on a pile of books.

The anthology was launched on zoom launch on 25 November 2021 by the guest editor of issue 2, Anita Patel. See Anita’s launch speech in Afterwords.

We’re no longer publishing Not Very Quiet

Sadly, we have decided that we will not continue the journal in 2022. See our founding editors’ reflections on NVQ in Afterwords.

The NVQ archive

The NVQ website will remain here as an archive of all of the great women’s poetry we have been privileged to publish from 2017 to 2021. Note that our archive does not include the recordings of the poets reading during covid times.

Thank you!

Thank you to all of the women who have supported Not Very Quiet over the past five years – it has been a fabulous experience for us and, we hope, for contributors and readers as well.

About Not Very Quiet – the archive, 2017–2021

Not Very Quiet is a twice yearly online journal, published from 2017 to 2021. Women poets of all ages, ethnicities, backgrounds and locations have had their work published here.

We believe it’s more important than ever to provide a platform to extend the range and breadth of poetry written by women so as to encourage and strengthen its impact.

We have looked for poetry that has heart and is memorable. We welcomed wit and humour. We supported poems that tried out something new, that break through a barrier. We selected poetry for publication using a blind review process.

We also published a mini-magazine featuring the poetry of Meerabai, a sixteenth-century Rajasthani mystic poet, singer and dancer.

All issues

Issue 1, 25 September 2017. Read Issue 1.

Issue 2, 19 March 2018. Read Issue 2.

Issue 3, 16 September 2018. Read Issue 3.

Issue 4, 14 March 2019. Read Issue 4.

Issue 5, 21 September 2019. Read Issue 5.

Issue 6, 30 March 2020. Read Issue 6.

Issue 7, 14 September 2020. Read Issue 7.

Issue 8, 15 March 2021. Read Issue 8.

Virtual mic – the poets reading their work

Our response to covid 19 restrictions on holding live events in 2020 and 2021 was to invite poets to record themselves reading their work. The result was three issues with a ‘virtual mic’.

Issue 6, 30 March 2020 – virtual mic. Listen to Issue 6 virtual mic.

Issue 7, 14 September 2020 – virtual mic. Listen to Issue 7 virtual mic.

Issue 8, 15 March 2021 – virtual mic. Listen to Issue 8 virtual mic.

Mini-magazine: Translating the Love Songs of Meerabai

Image of Meerabai with musical instrument.

Not Very Quiet is pleased to present a mini-magazine of translations, improvisations and interpretations of two songs of Meerabai, a sixteenth-century Rajasthani mystic poet, singer and dancer.

Check out Translating the Love Songs of Meerabai