The Liberal magazine is devoted to a renaissance in liberal politics and the liberal arts. First founded in 1821 by the Romantic poets Byron, Shelley and Hunt, the publication has a rich and radical heritage, and is committed to regenerating liberalism and reinvigorating the public sphere.

Alongside reportage and political and economic analysis, we print philosophical essays, poetry, music scores, photography and short fiction from around the world. Contributors to the first eleven issues include Christopher Hitchens, Harold Bloom, Helen Suzman, Garry Kasparov, Germaine Greer, Martin Rees, Marina Warner, Matthew Parris, Robert Reich, Terry Eagleton, Julia Kristeva, Ariel Dorfman, Al Alvarez, Clive James, Shirley Williams, Slavoj Žižek and Simon Sebag-Montefiore.

Highlights of the trial issue include: Marina Warner: 'On Myth'; Anatole Kaletsky on the Resource Curse; Helen Suzman: Visions of a Liberal Future; Special Dispatch from Morocco on an alarming rise in Islamic extremism; Peter Tatchell: In Praise of Somaliland; Michele Wallace joins the Future of Feminism debate.

There's also Byran Appleyard on Poetry and the English Imagination; book reviews from Ronald Wright, Fiona Sampson, and the late Michael Hamburger; new poetry by Jack Mapanje and Ben Markovits; new music from Robert Fokkens; plus William Hazllitt returns to The Liberal with a recently discovered essay.