Religion, Readership, and the Periodical Press: The Place of Poetry in Good Words

Focusing on the first three volumes of Good Words (1860–62), this essay examines how the periodical created its brand through the literary content and layout of these early volumes. Under its first editor, Norman Macleod, it redefined the nature of Sabbath reading through its editorial content, poetry, and layout. Looking at each of these elements in turn, this essay argues that the presentation of reading as a devotional act in Good Words effectively reformulated the popular genres of love poetry and nature poetry as devotional texts.