cream city review was started in 1975 after Mary Zane Allen, who had been at The Wisconsin Review, decided there should be a similar literary journal operating out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Allen worked with the student union to establish both the magazine and a reading series. Later, the magazine began operating with the support of UWM's English Department.

Over the years cream city review has evolved from an 8" X 11", 50 page, Xeroxed zine to the 150-200 page book format that it is today. Although the standards of the magazine have remained high, the appearances have changed dramatically. The shift to glossy, multicolored covers began in the fall of 1989, shortly after Laurie Buman became our art editor. These covers, which become more exciting with every issue, have now become one of our trademarks.