cream city review is Milwaukee’s leading literary journal devoted to publishing memorable and energetic pieces that push the boundaries of writing.  First published in 1975, we are one of the oldest literary magazines run by graduate students in the country.

We continually seek to explore the relationship between form and content,cream city review features fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, visual art, reviews of contemporary literature and author interviews. Published biannually, cream city review is a volunteer-based, non-profit journal which has attracted readers and submissions from around the world. We receive approximately 4,000 submissions each year from emerging and established writers.

The namecream city review pays tribute to the publication’s home in Milwaukee. Known as “The Cream City,” Milwaukee is the birthplace of the yellow-colored brick made exclusively from clay native to this area. The “cream” bricks, first made in 1835, proved more durable and aesthetically pleasing than the traditional red bricks produced by East Coast kilns, and quickly became Milwaukee’s most characteristic building material.

cream city review was started in 1975 by Mary Zane Allen and Wladyslaw Cieszynski. After working at The Wisconsin Review, Mary desired a similar literary journal for the creative writing department at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Allen worked with the student union to establish both the magazine and a reading series. Later, the literary journal began operating with the support of UWM’s English Department, succeeding the previous journal, Cheshire. Over the years,cream city review has continued to publish high-quality literary and visual art due to its dedicated volunteers and loyal following of readers and subscribers.

Past contributors include: Joy Harjo, Robin Gow, Terrance Hayes, Mary Oliver, Craig Santos Perez, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ocean Vuong, Audre Lorde, Carmen Giménez Smith, Allison Joseph,  Daniel Borzutsky, Jenny Xie, Caroline Knox, Simon Ortiz, Linda Pastan, Ricardo Pau-Llosa, Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Ted Kooser, William Matthews, Chiwan Choi, Pete Fromm, MICHAEL CHANG, Tess Gallagher,  Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Oliver de la Paz, Adrian C. Louis, Roberto Harrison, Ted Kooser, Duriel Harris, Ihab Hassan Timothy Yu, Kate Braverman, Diane Glancy, Rosebud Ben-Oni, Kayleb Rae Candrilli, Aimee Bender, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Charles Bukowski, Maxine Chernoff, Alberto Ríos, Jonathan Lethem.

Past editors include: Mary Zane Allen, Kyoko Mori, Phong Nguyen, Peter Burzyński, Brookes Moody, CJ Scruton, Su Cho, Ae Hee Lee, Molly Beckwith, Canese Jarboe, Camilla Jiyun Nam Lee

CURRENT STAFF