In short fiction, creating a character’s voice can be challenging. Believable conversation and internal dialogue that further characterization are hallmarks of this issues’ three short stories. EV Legters’ “Mercy,” tells us a haunting story of son’s love for his mother, who seems to be in decline; Mick McGrath’s “Total Eclipse,” gives us an up-close look at astronomical events in the sky and in romance; and, finally, Walter Levis’ “Lions in the Bronx,” takes us deep inside two characters and their marriage. 

The voices of our seven poets are intriguing as well. “My mother taught us anatomy but was/silent about the soul…” begins Rolly Kent’s poignant poem, “The Hammock,” about a larger issue of connecting with people we love. He’s not the only poet this issue seeking the voice of the silent, the hidden, or the lost. George Freek’s narrator ponders the sound of the rain as a song he doesn’t understand, and Alison Hicks offers us a poem invoking an extinct beast that roamed the land with prehistoric humans who painted them. 

Associate Editor

We are delighted to announce that Adrienne Pilon has generously agreed to become our associate editor. Adrienne is a former contributor who had already been helping out as a reader, something we announced last issue. Her passion for literature, her insights and her smart and timely support have made it an easy choice to ask her to join us in a larger role. She’s working primarily with the prose elements of the magazine, but as associate editor she also is helping out with decisions about poetry and developing new ideas for the magazine. Her bio is available in the About Us page.