DAVID MESSINEO
Publisher/Poetry Editor/Historian, Sensations Magazine (1987 to present);
President, The Six Centuries Club (2007 to present)
David Messineo is one of 26 individuals statewide to receive a 2009 New Jersey State Jefferson Award for Public Service, for his 23 years of volunteer service to Sensations Magazine, his three years of service as President of The Six Centuries Club, and his many years of research and publishing, related to examinations of American poetry and American history.
David is one of fewer than 20 individuals in the United States who, as a literary magazine poetry editor, has read every line of every poem submitted for over 20 years, and who continues to do so today. His formidable talents in editing and judging have won him the respect of poets in many nations. In fact, about 20% of the subscribership of Sensations Magazine have sustained their subscriptions for over 10 years, and 10% of the subscribership have been with the publication since its start in 1987/1988: a solid track record of achievement.
His strong guiding hand and creative vision have led Sensations Magazine to be a rare three-consecutive year winner in the national American Literary Magazine Awards (1994-1996). This included First Place, Design in 1994; Honorable Mention - Editorial Content in 1995 (for the thematic "Hope Against Hate" issue); and First Place - Overall Quality, Tabloid Category in 1996 (for the sensational Coney Island amusement park theme issue). His history research capabilities have earned him awards as well, most notably an Author Award in 1994 from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (home of the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame) for his "Rediscovering America in Poetry" research series, the first multicultural collection of American poetry, covering the years 1565-1700, and published serially in Sensations Magazine issues from 1990 to 1999.
Along with handling all business functions, from fundraising to accounting to magazine editing, production, and printing, David has over 20 years' experience in marketing, public relations, and planning and hosting events for the public, including poetry, music, and dance performances. In fact, the "Sensations Magazine Creative Events Series" is now the second-longest ongoing poetry reading series in New Jersey, and its full history of events was documented in the 366-page Issue 42.
As a performance poet, David Messineo achieved something that many more prominent poets, from Walt Whitman to William Carlos Williams, did not: sharing his poetry with audiences in 48 of the 50 states before turning 40. He is the author of six poetry collections: First Impressions, Suburban Gothic, A Taste of Italy, Restoration, A Taste of Brazil, and Formal. The six collections form a total of only 1000 printed books. Only Suburban Gothic and Formal are still available for purchase by the general public, and some copies of Suburban Gothic are for sale the Internet for over $100 per copy. In poetry, that is an achievement.
His life goal is to publish 50 Sensations Magazine issues across 25 years of independent publishing. He soon will begin Issue 47.
