The Oxford Magazine is a review magazine and newspaper published inOxford, England.[1]
The Oxford Magazine was established in 1883 and published weekly duringOxford University terms.[1] Contributors included:J. R. R. Tolkien,[2] whose characterTom Bombadil, who later featured inThe Lord of the Rings, first appeared in the magazine around 1933.A joint poem by C. S. Lewis and Owen Barfield called "Abecedarium Philosophicum" was published on 30 November 1933.[3]Dorothy Sayers published two of her poems,Hymn in Contemplation of Sudden Death andEpitaph for a Young Musician, in the magazine.[4]W. H. Auden published his early poem "The Sunken Lane" there while he was an undergraduate at Oxford University.[5] The magazine has also published the poetsH. W. Garrod, Olivia McCannon,[6]Jude Cowan Montague,[7] Michael Gessner,[8] Kieron Winn,John Wain,Elizabeth Jennings and others.[citation needed]
It now functions "as a commentator on university affairs",[9] that is, an independent forum where members ofCongregation can debate academic policy. While it is distributed along with theOxford University Gazette, it sometimes carries articles critical of the University's leadership.[10]
The magazine continues to publish poetry, including the work ofOxford Professor of PoetrySimon Armitage. As of 2025, the current literary editor is the poetJane Griffiths,[11] who took up this position afterLucy Newlyn. Newlyn had been the literary editor of the magazine since 2011. The previous literary editor of the magazine was the poetBernard O'Donoghue, who was preceded by the poetDavid Constantine. The general editor of the magazine in 2021 was Tim Horder,[12] Emeritus Fellow in Medicine atJesus College, Oxford.[13]
Latterly issued four times each term, the magazine became online only in December 2020 saving the university £45,000 a year.[14] In 2022 the university ended all personnel and computer support, leaving the editors unable to continue publication. Academic staff prepared a motion for debate atCongregation in November 2022 which "instructs" theuniversity council to reverse the decision and to ensure the continued publication ofOxford Magazine under the preexisting arrangements.[14] Council later stated that the motion was acceptable to it and agreed to "continue the arrangements for the Oxford Magazine which were in place in 2021–22 whilst its longer-term future is debated."[15]
It should not be confused withOxford Magazine orIn Oxford Magazine, both commercial listings/shopping magazines covering theCity of Oxford, nor with an earlier periodical also calledThe Oxford Magazine which was published in London from 1768 to 1776.[16]
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