To Have Lived Long Enough To Be Allowed To Return, by Henry Israeli

Henry Israeli’s poetry collections are, god’s breath hovering across the waters,
(Four Way Books: 2016), Praying to the Black Cat (Del Sol: 2010), and New
Messiahs (Four Way Books: 2002). He is also the translator of three books
by Albanian poet Luljeta Lleshanaku. Henry Israeli is also the founder and
editor of Saturnalia Books.

By the way he plants his wheat, you see the country of his origin, by Laura Haynes

Laura Haynes is a former screenwriter and 2012 graduate of the Bennington
Writing Workshops. Her work can be found or is forthcoming in McSweeney’s,
Crab Orchard Review, Prime Number Magazine (2014 Poetry Prize) and Measure.
She lives in Santa Barbara.

About the poem:

“By The Way He Plants His Wheat, You See The Country Of His Origin:” I love the
brevity and directness of the sonnet, and often lean towards this form. This poem
would have been 14 lines, if I split the title into two lines, but I liked the way the long
title drew attention to itself and how that allowed it the poem to pay off better at
the end. Also, fracturing the form better reflected the ‘fracture’ I was writing about.

Escapeful, by Lea Graham

Lea Graham is the author of the forthcoming, From the Hotel Vernon (Salmon
Press, 2019); the chapbook, This End of the World: Notes to Robert Kroetsch (Apt.
9 Press, 2016) and Hough & Helix & Where & Here & You, You, You (No Tell Books,
2011). She is an associate professor at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY.

About the poem:

“Escapeful” comes out of my manuscript in-progress, The O. E. D. Odes. The poem
uses the dictionary entry form and explores the word through sound, denotation
and my own connotations. The use of this form was inspired by A. Van Jordan’s
book, M*A*C*N*O*L*I*A, a book about spelling bees and racial injustice. While
“Escapeful” is autobiographical in its yearnings to adventure, Bonnie and Clyde were
serendipitously discovered when I began to research the town I lived in.

Pronounced, by Carlos Andrés Gómez

Carlos Andrés Gómez is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet who is pursuing
his MFA at Warren Wilson College. Winner of the 2015 Lucille Clifton Poetry
Prize, his work has appeared in the North American Review, RATTLE, Beloit
Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. He lives in New York City.

About the poem:

This poem is inspired by my childhood: growing up feeling pulled between languages,
identities, and worlds. And, in particular, this poem’s genesis can be traced back to
a comment from my best friend in fifth grade at a sleepover one night, casually said
while we were brushing our teeth.

If Cowboys Were Cancer Cells, by D. G. Geis

D. G. Geis is the author of Fire Sale (Tupelo Press/Leapfolio) and “Mockumentary”
(Main Street Rag). Among other places, his poetry has appeared in The Irish
Times, Fjords, Skylight 47 (Ireland), A New Ulster Review (N. Ireland), Crannog
Magazine (Ireland), The Moth, (Ireland), The Tishman Review, and Poetry Scotland
(Open Mouse).

About the poem:
This is one of those rare poems that simply appeared. It doesn’t happen very often, but it
occurred to me that life, like writing poetry, is very much like pulling things out of a hat.
I may have an idea where I want to begin, but the poem usually works its way around
me and my idea of what it should be. In that sense poetry is more a form of self-erasure,
a vanishing act.

Love Note, by Keetje Kuipers

Keetje Kuipers is a former Stegner Fellow, Pushcart Prize winner, and the
author of two collections of poetry. Previously a tenured Associate Professor
at Auburn University, she now lives and writes in Seattle, where she teaches
at Hugo House and is an associate editor at Poetry Northwest.

Hemming Twice to Show the Strength, by Hannah Craig

2017 Crab Creek Review Poetry Prize winning poem, Hemming Twice to Show the Strength, by Hannah Craig. Selected by Diane Seuss.

Hannah Craig is the author of This History That Just Happened (Parlor Press,
2017) which was the winner of the New Measure Poetry Prize. Her work has
appeared in Fence, Mississippi Review, the North American Review, Prairie Schooner,
Smartish Pace and other publications. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA.

About the poem:
My sisters and I used to play this kind of game when we were young. My grandmother,
who was a seamstress, gave us these huge bridal pattern books and we’d just page
through them, picking our doppelgangers. I guess I always thought it was pretty awful,
as an adult and a feminist, looking back. But when I actually unpacked it a bit, I
ended up seeing things as a little more complex.

Nocturne with Supermoon & MS Relapse, by Emily Rose Cole

Emily Rose Cole is the author of Love and a Loaded Gun, a persona chapbook from
Minerva Rising Press. She has received awards from Jabberwock Review, Ruminate
Magazine, and the Academy of American Poets, and her poetry has appeared or
is forthcoming in Nimrod, The Pinch, and Southern Indiana Review, among others.

Editors note:  Nocturne with Supermoon & MS Relapse was published in Crab Creek Review in October, 2017, and was reprinted in November 2017 at Flyway , along with another outstanding poem by Emily. Go read it!

The Cow Disembarks from the Ark, by Dennis Caswell

Dennis Caswell is the author of the poetry collection Phlogiston (Floating
Bridge Press). His work has appeared in Bluestem, Crab Creek Review, Poetry
Northwest, Rattle, and assorted other journals and anthologies. He lives
outside Woodinville, Washington and works as a software engineer in the
aviation industry. Dare to visit denniscaswell.com.