The journal itself is only a year old, yet a browse through the "ArcHives" of past issues reveals some interesting work. Focusing on prose and poetry in "highly visual interfaces" (I think that means with lots of pretty pictures), BeeHive is described as a "hypertext/hypermedia literary journal". Even taking into account the self-promotional undertone of the "About BeeHive" page, it's still impressive: since its debut in May 1998 the journal has published 16 hypertext pieces and within a week of going online was selected as "Cool Site of the Day" (though I suspect this had more to do with connections than coolness). The editorial policy is open, i.e. "not limited to any specific genre or subject" but preferably writing that "challenges." The latest issue boasts a much-hyped feature article on the National Poetry Slam finals in Chicago with "on the road" reports filed as photos (mostly boring/obscure) and email travel diaries, which are quite effective, easy-to-read and straight to the point.

The issue also features a "New York-San Francisco Poetry Collection" edited by Alan Kaufman. We can view poetry from both these "US poetry capitals" by author or by using a random feature that I really liked. Not knowing anything about the poets, a click of the button meant that the decision was made for me, and it gave me the feeling of flicking through a literary journal and letting my eyes fall where they will. My first click produced Eileen Myles' "40th Street", rumination on how her coffeepot handles it when she switches from French espresso to El Pico. Further clicks on the "random" button revealed Bonny Finberg's haunting "Delphine" ("Even her eyes, always so impenetrable before in their darkness, became the lacunae of a gauze so loosely woven that I could pass unhindered") and David Trinidad's "Fluff," a hilarious eulogy for Barbie's short-lived tomboy cousin. And then there was Tarin Towers' beautiful "Fourteen Opening Stanzas from Poems that Have Never Been Written," which alone merits a visit to the site. Whilst each of the four works featured in the current issue are quite substantial, I found myself searching the "ArcHive" for a little more variety - that's how I chanced upon Carolin Guertin's above-mentioned piece, as well as an excellent poetry anthology called "Swarm."

BeeHive is visually crisp, clean, well designed and easy to navigate. With its striking layout and consistent color scheme, it's a pleasure to navigate. Most of the work featured is of a high standard; some of it is great. Bookmark it.

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