Since 1997, we’ve been proud to publish a rich diversity of voices and styles from authors around the globe. Each year, we receive hundreds of submissions—from wordsmiths who share new work with us every submission period, and from emerging authors taking a chance on submitting their writing for the very first time. It’s exciting. And so is watching a new group of student editors read and discuss and learn from the writers and poets who trust us with their words. Thank you.
Below are selections from interviews conducted by students with authors we’ve published. You’ll read about what inspired particular works, how they’ve developed their writing craft, what they’re excited to do next, and so much more.
Enjoy.
The White Field
Congratulations to Douglas Cole, winner of the 2021 American Fiction Award and CLR contributor, on his forthcoming publication from Unsolicited Press (Sept. 2026), The White Field, a “strange, sharp, morally complicated literary crime novel about a man newly released from prison and the machinery waiting to drag him back in. It is part prison-release story,…
Keep readingAuthor Insight: What have your experiences been like interacting with the publishing world? How about with student editors working on literary journals?
I’ve had mostly positive experiences. Form rejections (and I’ve received a lot of them) are hard, but occasionally, I get an editor who might really see my work, even as they reject it. And sometimes I’m met with enthusiasm. This is always gratifying. As for student editors, I think there’s a curiosity and wonder present…
Keep readingInterview with Cal Freeman
Author of “*(for Simon Perchik)” (Volume XXX, 2026) When did you realize you wanted to write? I was in 7th grade. At the time I was listening to the band Nirvana and wanted to be a songwriter. I got the idea that poetry would help me become a better lyricist, so I started reading poets…
Keep readingRecent contributor wins international poetry prize!
Congratulations to Maria McLeod, scholar, writer, and poet, on her poem, “A Destiny We Welcomed,” winning second place in the prestigious Fish Poetry Prize! The competition draws entries from around the world, and this year Maria’s poem was judged and selected by former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins out of 1, 706 submissions—once more, congratulations,…
Keep readingAuthor Insight: When did you realize you wanted to write?
I used to live near a cemetery, where I would walk sometimes to get out of the house and clear my head. In the cemetery, I found a headstone for a woman named Lucy and her husband. Her husband’s death date was in the 1800’s, but Lucy’s death date was left blank. I realized I…
Keep readingInterview with Ace Boggess
Author of “Grave Thoughts” (Volume XXX, 2026) When did you realize you wanted to write? I always dabbled with writing. I remember as a kid starting novels on an old typewriter. I’d write a few pages or a chapter and then forget about them forever, whatever they were. I started writing poetry and my first…
Keep readingAuthor Insight: How have other authors influenced your own writing and style?
I return to the way authors like Sherwood Anderson and Elizabeth Strout have created characters who are oddballs (Anderson’s people in Winesburg, Ohio) and cranky (Olive Kitteredge in Strout’s stories). As a reader, I care about these characters even though they have flaws, and I think it is bold of these authors to create characters…
Keep readingAuthor Insight: Where do you typically seek inspiration and guidance for your work?
I look to people. Even the most trivial conversation with a stranger might inspire a scene in a novel or story. Although nothing is ever trivial to me. -Grace Whitmore, “Beyond the Haze,” Volume XXX, 2026 Family! -Celia Lawren, “The Problem of Describing Color,” Volume XXX, 2026 Whenever I’m stuck in my writing, I pick…
Keep readingInterview with Lindsay Wilson
Author of “Letter to You Beginning at a Dead Lake,” Volume XXX, 2026 When did you realize you wanted to write? Pretty early in high school I started to write in a notebook. It started by trying to write a song, and I found it so difficult. I remember sitting there for hours and never…
Keep readingA beautiful new cover for a beautiful new book!
Congratulations to Harry Newman on the cover reveal for his upcoming collection, Cliff Dwellers, from Silverfish Review Press. The painting by Sabine Moritz is titled Abendphantasie. Beautiful work!
Keep readingStrange Beauty & The Be-All and the End-All
Congratulations to CLR contributor Matthew James Friday on the recent publication of two new poetry chap books by Bottlecap Press: Strange Beauty and The Be-All and the End-All!
Keep readingHis Only Merit
Another wonderful poet, another wonderful chapbook—from Finishing Line Press! Congratulations to Benjamin Green, author of His Only Merit!!
Keep readingTeaching without Teaching
Another bit of congratulations are in order: Scott Parker’s collection of essays, Teaching without Teaching, is just out from One Subject Press! We are so privileged to publish such wonderful writers.
Keep readingTroutwatching!
Congratulations to CLR contributor Dallas Crow on the publication of his second poetry chap book, Troutwatching, by Finishing Line Press!
Keep readingInterview with Sue Fagalde Lick
Author of “Turquoise” (Volume XXVI, 2022) “Regarding the bathroom: The description is so vivid. What bathroom was this based on?” The bathroom in the first section is from my childhood home. The turquoise bathroom in the other sections is in the house where I live now, so I use it every day. The previous owners…
Keep readingInterview with Mercedes Lawry
Author of “Bears” (Volume XXVI, 2022) “What brought you to write about bears in enclosures specifically?” On a visit to Sitka, Alaska, I went to the Fortress of the Bears. These were bears that would never be released back into the wild. As with any captive animals, there is a sadness. As a young child…
Keep readingInterview with Cecil Morris
Author of “One Woman” (Volume XXVI, 2022) “Could you tell us who inspired the character in this poem?” My son was shooting wedding photos for a friend of his wife’s family in Cathedral Park under the St. John’s Bridge in Portland, and I had come along as an equipment carrier and back-up photographer. At least…
Keep readingInterview with Heather Charton
Author of “What We Knew” (20th Anniversary Issue) What was the inspiration for “What We Knew”? My dad has an unusual hobby: fireworks. But he is not the only one. A few years ago, he became a card-carrying member of Pyrotechnics Guild International and then convinced my mom and me to attend a couple of…
Keep readingAuthor Insight: If you had one piece of advice you’d pass on to other authors, what would it be?
Try to never stop writing. Keep getting to the desk. Get into a rhythm of regular, if possible, day writing. Some kind of discipline above all. Because when you stop it can be very hard to return. And it gets harder. “Back” doesn’t only relate to finding your footing again in life, it’s a metaphor…
Keep readingInterview with Harry Newman,
Author of “Back” (20th Anniversary Issue) “Back” is a strange piece, feeling almost alien in its eccentricities. I quite enjoyed it, what was the inspiration behind it? I have a several poems like “Back” that are associative in nature, that are guided by a more emotional logic than anything rationally thought out. There aren’t very many of them, but I…
Keep readingInterview with Patricia Murphy
In 2005, the CLR published Patricia Colleen Murphy’s poem “Days After.” This year, she won the May Swenson Poetry Award for her poetry collection Hemming Flames. We had the chance to interview Trish about her writing process and what inspired these poems. Enjoy! What is the background and inspiration behind this collection? I’ve been writing…
Keep reading
CLACKAMAS LITERARY REVIEW 