February 2019

This issue is unusual: it is made up of a novella (a short novel) and a cycle of poems. When I came across the novella Dancing in the Rain, I immediately sat up. I loved the clarity and simplicity with which Harper Miller, the author, set up scenes, not only creating a picture in my mind but evoking a mood. As you read her book, you will notice that, though she is tracing a single central plot—the drought—Miller is not afraid to let her story meander a bit. A cycle of poems is simply a group of poems on a single subject or in a single form. Vidhat Kartik’s cycle is about the four seasons. I loved the playfulness and inventiveness of his rhyme and the way certain motifs (like the “hose”) resurfaced throughout the pieces. There is so much incredible artwork in this issue, as well—from the incredibly detailed “Four Seasons” drawing to the mysterious rock formations framed so beautifully in the photograph, “Canadian Beach.” Happy reading and looking!

This issue is unusual: it is made up of a novella (a short novel) and a cycle of poems. When I came across the novella Dancing in the Rain, I immediately sat up. I loved the clarity and simplicity with which Harper Miller, the author, set up scenes, not only creating a picture in my mind but evoking a mood. As you read her book, you will notice that, though she is tracing a single central plot—the drought—Miller is not afraid to let her story meander a bit. A cycle of poems is simply a group of poems on a single subject or in a single form. Vidhat Kartik’s cycle is about the four seasons. I loved the playfulness and inventiveness of his rhyme and the way certain motifs (like the “hose”) resurfaced throughout the pieces. There is so much incredible artwork in this issue, as well—from the incredibly detailed “Four Seasons” drawing to the mysterious rock formations framed so beautifully in the photograph, “Canadian Beach.” Happy reading and looking!