Winter 2014: Young Voices

Introduction

For our fourth edition, we focused on Lincoln High School. I had help from several teachers as well as the principal in soliciting poetry and prose from students. It was, as always, difficult to select just five. Almost all the submissions I received were from poets. I selected five poems from four wonderful poets and there were multiple emails back and forth as we strove to make these poems as strong and detailed as they could be. These fine young women were both open to the necessary process of revision and willing to stand up for words and lines that were important to them. For some of them it will be their first publication. I don’t believe it will be the last for any of them.

These young women explore a variety of interesting topics, all with great attention to detail. We have three very different poems that involve rivers. In “Ephemeral,” fabulous imagery, as well as a mermaid, make for a very surprising scene by the grey Mississippi. In the marvelously simple language of “The Bridge,” we get a strong picture of a looming giant. In “The River,” the poet explores her incredible connection through personification. “Compost” delivers a clear and sweet picture of a girl digging in the dirt with her father. Finally, in “Chinese Mangoes,” four girls wake up on a humid night in Beijing and quench their thirst with mangoes. The imagery in this poem is so powerful that readers can practically taste the juicy fruit while reading.

Donna Prinzmetal
Young Voices Editor

Poetry Multi-faceted, poignant and inspiring. We’ve caught thirteen never-before-published poems by twelve master-class voices.		Prose Five women share their talent and themselves in new, surprising and heartfelt ways.		Artwork Established craftswomen and aspiring visionaries add colorful richness to our most recent issue.		Young Voices The lyrical language of five young poets will delight you.		Contributors Meet the authors and artists who make the Winter 2014 edition a rich, varied and engaging experience.

LETTER FROM THE MANAGING EDITOR POETRY         After the Ice Storm by Linda Strever         Waiting for a Diagnosis by Linda Strever         Anticipation by Penelope Scambly Schott         How to Survive the Loss of Your Best Friend by Diane Averill         Current Conditions by Carol Ellis         For a Hot Shot by Susan DeFreitas         Focal Distance by Jenna Thompson         Bridge by Jennifer Liberts Weinberg         Motherhood by Elizabeth Stoessl         Nice Girl Regrets by Pattie Palmer Baker         Lost Child Lullabye by Tiah Lindner Rephael         To Inhabit the Body by Willa Schneberg         Love Letter by Annie Lightheart PROSE         Like Water and Stones by B.E. Scully         Messages by Mary Mandeville         Fear Jars by Jessica Zisa         Pie by Susan Lehman         Confinement by Valerie Wagner ART         Where the Buffalo and Unicorn Once Roamed by Katie Todd         Midwestern Dreamin' by Katie Todd         Monday's Child by Sarah Fagan         Sweet Tea by Sarah Fagan         The Daydream by Kendall Madden         Beatrice by Kendall Madden YOUNG VOICES         Chinese Mangos by Sophia Mautz         The Bridge by Kate LeBlanc         Ephemeral by Jillian Briglia         The River by Sheila Panyam         Compost by Sophia Mautz CONTRIBUTORS