Thanks for joining us for the Fall 2021 issue of Whale Road Review! This issue provides a full spread of autumn vibes: from a harvest moon, pumpkins, and apple trees to carnivals, cemeteries, and body horror. The creative pieces will invite you in with cup of tea and leave you dreaming with the oldest dog.
Issue 24 features poetry and short prose by Jordi Alonso, Sarah Cavar, Brittney Corrigan, Jesse Curran, Martins Deep, Risa Denenberg, Eleri Denham, Cat Dixon, Samantha Fain, Marc Frazier, Trivarna Hariharan, Karah Kemmerly, Sue Mell, Matt Miller, Julie L. Moore, Diane Payne, Ren Pike, Rachel Pittman, Luci Shaw, Nova Wang, Emma Williams, and Melody Wilson.
For more teaching ideas, check out this issue’s creative writing pedagogy papers: Rebecca Lauren offers craft sheets for building protagonists, Katie Darby Mullins takes inspiration from an Aimee Mann song for an exercise in negation, and Annaleta Nichols makes figurative language more accessible by breaking it down to form and meaning.
The reviews in this issue explore a flash memoir collection by Joanna Penn Cooper and new poetry collections by River Dixon, Daniel Edward Moore, and Merrijane Rice. Thanks to Claire Bateman, Aarik Danielsen, Theric Jepson, and Bojana Stojcic for sharing these books with us.
Finally, this issue closes with two wonderful interviews: Michael Knotts and Hallie Sneed interviewed Alyse Bensel about her new book, Rare Wondrous Things, and Anna Leahy gathered three poets who are also publishers and/or contest judges— Kelli Russell Agodon, Allison Blevins, and Victoria Chang—to talk about reading, writing, and publishing chapbooks.
If you enjoy the work in this issue, please tip the authors who have “Tip the Author” links under their bios. Even a small amount will mean a lot. Thank you for reading!
Katie Manning
Editor-in-Chief
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