LVNG Magazine is a journal of poetry and art published free by Flood Editions.

In 2011, LVNG’s editorship passed from Joel Felix, Michael O’Leary, and Peter O’Leary, who remain in advisory roles, to James Longley and Ossian Foley. In 2016, they were joined by Emily Liebowitz. 

Issues 8 – 11 are available as PDFs at www.floodeditions.com/lvng

More recent issues are available on this site.

For information, contact us at lvngmagazine@gmail.com

Historical Note

LVNG is an independent journal that features poetry, fiction, essays, and art. The first issue of LVNG was published in the fall of 1990 at Kenyon College. Michael O’Leary and Jay Sullivan, the journal’s founding editors, collected poetry and artwork from friends in both Detroit and Chicago. The two assembled eighty copies of the thirty-six page inaugural issue and circulated it among friends and colleagues. The name of the journal was taken from a favorite song of both editors, “The Lung” by Dinosaur Jr., and was also an abbreviation of Living and Loving.

Influenced by traditional gift-giving economies and communities, O’Leary and Sullivan were committed to the free distribution of LVNG. Peter O’Leary joined the founders as an editor and helped with the dissemination of LVNG into Detroit and Chicago cafes, bookstores, and record stores.

Since 2001, LVNG has been published by Flood Editions, a small non-profit press founded by Michael O’Leary and Devin Johnston. Available online and in communities across the country, LVNG’s primary purpose is “to provide a location for the ideas and aspirations of a collection of writers.” The journal’s unorthodox and informal distribution method – placing copies of LVNG in buses and trains, grocery stores and doctor’s offices – offered people an opportunity to read contemporary poetry without having to purchase a poetry magazine. Later joined by Joel Felix, LVNG produced eleven issues, the last of which appeared in 2004. In 2011, Jim Longley and Ossian Foley became editors under the guidance of the previous editors. They were joined in 2016 by Emily Liebowitz.