We cannot be more thrilled to share our THIRTIETH volume with our readers! THIRTY: Can you believe that? Wowzers!!

Featuring prize-winning authors and former poet laureates; beautiful Spanish language poems and their English translations; remarkable voices and styles that will literally make you tilt your head sideways and smile ear-to-ear; a fascinating interview with an award-winning contributor about his new collection of short fiction; and even a shout-out to one of our amazing student-run literary neighbors—The Swift at Clark College—truly, this issue is incredible, cover to cover. And speaking of covers: thanks again to our two-time cover artist Carina Cooper for her positively BEAUTIFUL work!

Our thirtieth volume would not have been possible without our unstoppable group of student editors who read nearly 1300 submissions from 500 authors, worked for nine months on selecting, editing, designing, and promoting the new issue, and did it all with careful consideration toward publishing innovative work (and more than a wee bit of laughter along the way). As one editor wrote, “This issue explores the grief and resilience of life, as well as the beauty that can be found in acceptance, love, and peace. This issue dares to face life head-on, accepting the dark times and charging forward into the future with hope and a determined spirit of change.” Boy, does it. On behalf of our authors, readers, and faculty editors, to this year’s fifteen assistant editors & designers—we say THANK YOU!