“Sometimes you have to stop something to know how well it worked,” said David Young, longtime editor of FIELD magazine, when discussing the 50-year-old publication’s upcoming closure in 2019. FIELD, a literary publication based at Oberlin College, is set to close its doors after publishing issue 100 next spring.

“Nobody thought, when the magazine began in 1969, that it would last this long and become such an institution,” Young said in a note to subscribers regarding the conclusion of the magazine. Young, having served as editor since FIELD’s inception, believes the publication will leave behind a legacy of elevating unestablished writers to the public eye. “We were very fortunate to feature poets like Mark Strand and C.D. Wright, but it’s the mix of recognizable names and poets who haven’t published a book yet that’s been most important to us.”

Young also cites the habit of symposium that FIELD has offered as one of the magazine’s greatest achievements. “We also tried to demonstrate a commitment to poetry and poetics. We regularly featured short discussions about poetry by poets showing readers what poets themselves look for while reading poems.” FIELD has also traditionally published translations in accompaniment to the short essays.

Since the announcement of the magazine’s closure, Young has received many messages of gratitude and admiration from subscribers and contributors. “It’s been a very gratifying response,” said Young.

Young’s note to the FIELD faithful emphasizes a similar gratitude. “All good things eventually terminate, and fifty years and one hundred issues make for good round numbers. It isn’t easy to say goodbye. Thank you for caring and loving FIELD all these many years.”

Fans of the magazine can look forward to issue 99 in the Fall 2018 before the final issue in Spring 2019. For those interested in following David Young after FIELD’s final issue, the poet is currently working on a translation of Chinese poet Su Dongpo.

Photo Credit: FIELD #98