ISSUE 11.2 welcomeissue contents> poetry> fiction> nonfiction> artcontributorsinterviewsour editors Ani Bachan“As animals we have certain objective needs, but as people we practice ways to avoid or alter these needs based on various expectations and commitments.” Mike Bagwell“The poem evokes loss and grief in ways I don’t think I’d fully processed when writing it.” Ray Ball“There is a lot of fatphobia in the medical industry.” Katelynn Bishop“But I try to keep in mind that the speaker in a poem is not the same as the poet, and to trust the speaker and allow her space.” Nathan Erwin“For me, salamanders invite us to touch the earth, get dirty in it, and find ourselves again.” Judith Fox“It was during the revision process that I imagined the speaker in her childhood kitchen as she watched her young parents prepare to share a pot of tea.” E.C. Gannon“It’s an incredibly unsettling story, let me be clear, but it got me thinking about at what point simple observation becomes creepy.” Elizabeth Cranford Garcia“I was drawn to the idea of ‘tween-ness,’ exploring the liminal.” David Gunton“…a poem, at least a lyric poem, is foremost an arrangement of images, as opposed to an arrangement of words or sounds.” Erin Samantha Hanson“Vulnerability and honesty are necessary, and—as I learned as a very young writer—inescapable.” Kathryn Jankowski“I also draw upon my journalism training, which taught me to begin each story with as compelling as a lead as possible, keep the momentum flowing and omit needless words.” A.L. Gordon“It’s a fine line and I’m sure I’m not always successful in toeing that line—I think in ‘Circles’ I was.” Melissent Zumwalt“From a very young age, I’ve always been fascinated by my family—our emotions and interactions, the decisions we make and how we impact one another.” Kennedy Bailey“Grief can be an ugly emotion, and I didn’t want Reagan to have any interest in lessening those feelings to prevent her family’s (or the reader’s) discomfort.” Heather Bartos“In ‘Surrendered,’ each character creates their own personal end of the world—except for Nathan, who doesn’t want one.” Danielle Shandiin Emerson“It’s important for people to know that when you’ve cut someone out of your life, or set boundaries, it isn’t necessarily a loss or even an end, but a beginning and a movement towards something better for your wellbeing.” Kris Faatz“I wanted to hold out the suggestion that the nocturnal spider was a piece of magic intersecting with the real world.” Kiana Govoni“I also like getting what you wish for in a manner that deforms and forces a personal choice that tests the narrator’s understanding of themselves….” Huina Zheng“There’s a Chinese proverb, ‘Even when bones are broken, tendons remain connected,’ which describes that relatives, despite conflicts, are still inseparably linked.”
