"Words that turn the page to flame."
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| Photography by Eleanor Bennett |
In
Southwest Michigan, where The Smoking
Poet is based, we are in the midst of a heat wave. Triple digits. Gasp! But
far, far up north, in that gorgeous wild of Alaska, cool things are happening.
It’s
been a long time since I was in Alaska myself, but the vivid beauty of the
tundra, the Brooks Range, the fields of crystalline snow, and a proliferation of
wildlife stays with me still. I’ve long wondered how living in such wild beauty
might inspire one’s creativity. For me, it was a time that I had my first taste
of newspaper writing in a small town a boat ride north of Juneau.
Wonder
no more. One of my favorite poets, in fact, lives in Fairbanks—Derick Burleson. Derick has been a feature poet in TSP in an earlier
issue, but now he returns with a bevy of his creative writing students from the
University of Alaska. My introduction to Derick was by reading his poetry
collection Never Night, published by
Michigan publisher Marick Press in 2008. Stunning work. And apparently it rubs
off, because in a collection of works by his students in this issue, it’s all
stunning. Dip your reading pleasure into these cool waters and be
refreshed.
Also
in our summer issue, you will see the photography of Eleanor Bennett. Eleanor is
all of 16 years old. With such a well developed eye for memorable imagery and
composition, I’m keeping my eye on this new talent.
We
offer you pages of fiction, nonfiction and poetry
as always, but be assured, there is word art here such as you have never seen
before. Kalamazoo and Beyond brings local talent to our Michigan readers with Hedy
Habra, and our book reviews, updated throughout the coming season, may inspire
you to pick up a book you might otherwise have missed—and shouldn’t.
I’m
feeling cooler already.
With a
good word,
Zinta Aistars
Founder and Editor-in-Chief
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