Acumen is a literary journal that places an emphasis on poetry. The magazine is edited by Patricia Oxley who herself is not a writer but a reader of poetry. She has been editing the magazine for eighteen years and has taken it into the twenty-first century with some of the best poetry and criticism being written today. Acumen publishes a varied and impressive list of poets and critics.

The magazine is also known to be on the lookout for the new and unknown of all ages - in the search for fresh talent and quality work. Published three times a year (January, May and September) in A5 perfect bound, with at least 120pp per issue, the magazine contains approximately 50 new poems (including translations), reviews, poetry comment, and reader feedback. The critical articles aim to be well written and readable which, we hope, will set the reader thinking and promote discussion within the correspondence columns of the magazine.

Issue 46 contains poetry alongside new appraisals of Wilfred Owen and H. D., an interview with Chris Greenhalgh and an article on whether poetry is a private or public language.