Welcome to the Winter 2023 issue of Whale Road Review! This marks our 8-year anniversary, and we’re so happy to celebrate with these incredible pieces. This issue takes a deep dive into seasonal imagery and archetypes. It contains enough birds to qualify as an aviary and enough relatives to qualify as a family tree. The number of gorgeous moments that made me gasp might also allow this issue to qualify as a breathing exercise. In this time of too much darkness and not enough peace, I hope you’ll find this writing to be a light.
Issue 33 features creative work by Mark D. Bennion, Brendan Bense, Molly Bolton, Phillip Watts Brown, Duncan Campbell, Grant Clauser, Lisa Dordal, Brian Duncan, Suzanne Edison, Cynthia Marie Hoffman, Melissa Fite Johnson, Judy Kaber, Sally Rosen Kindred, Eric Lochridge, Elizabeth Loudon, Melanie Maggard, Dawn Miller, Angelina-Maria Montejo, Anne Rankin, n.l. rivera, James Roach, Leonora Simonovis, Emily Tee, and Heather Truett.
We’ve got two fun and useful pedagogy papers: Julija Šukys provides a lesson in place writing with maps, and Laura Sweeney shares a lesson in collecting material through immersion at the opera.
The three reviews in this issue take us inside new books by Mary Makofske and Sandra Marchetti and into the 2023 mini chapbooks bundle from Yavanika Press; thanks to Diane Bliss, Jess Chua, and Mindy Kronenberg for their thoughtful work!
This issue closes with two fantastic interviews: the first with Alex Carrigan was conducted by Robert Allen, and the second is a conversation that Lesley Wheeler conducted with Jeannine Hall Gailey and Cynthia Hogue.
Many of these writers would be delighted if you sent them a little gift using the Tip the Author link below their bio to let them know you enjoy their work. Happy holidays to you and yours. Thanks for reading!
Katie Manning
Editor-in-Chief