Winter 2015: Young Voices

Introduction

As the new editor of the Young Voices section, I was unsure of what to expect. What a delightful surprise to find dedicated young women across our region who are able to confront some of the more terrifying aspects of human experience with clear eyes and articulate voices. For our sixth edition we present five fresh, bright perspectives about the difficulty of facing grief and isolation.

In “Visions From a Playground,” the author helps us see the same setting from several lenses while offering a transcendent perspective.

The sensory detail and the author’s deft handling of time and perspective in “Chasing Thunder” evoke stories from the news media with a voice both naive and intimate.

The author of “Elegy for Christy,” the youngest writer to have her work published by VoiceCatcher, speaks directly to a close friend, asking some pointed questions whose answers must come from the heart of the reader.

The author of “Social Media” gives a detailed description of the pressures experienced by 21st century students and the paradoxically isolating aspects of social media.

Finally, in “A Hundred Acre Wood," the author paints a rich spectrum of detail in a holiday family scene that delicately outlines the negative space and evokes an appreciation for all that strong family relationships can provide.

In this time of year, when the days grow short, we are happy to publish these young writers – brave lights facing the darkness.

Kris Demien
Young Voices Editor

Poetry Through the magic of language, 20 poets challenge us to write and live bravely.		Prose Five risk-taking voices burn with the fire of transformation.		Artwork Four artists share their diverse sensibilities as confident mark-makers.		Young Voices With clear eyes and articulate voices, five young women confront terrifying aspects of human experience.		Contributors Meet the authors and artists – from first-timers to well-established – who grace our sixth issue with their voices and visions.

LETTER FROM THE MANAGING EDITOR POETRY         A Great Wild Goodness by Annie Lighthart         Going South by Christine Gray         a welcome week by Hannah Sams         Ophelia, at Fifty, in a Blue Blow-up Canoe by Deborah Dombrowski         A Passing Music by Barbara LaMorticella         Girl Fishing with Grandpa by Helen Kerner         Perimeter by Amy Schutzer         Two Poets in the Weight Room by Tricia Knoll         Skeletons by Christa Kaainoa         A Poem for Dany by Suzy Harris         Lineage by Amy Schutzer         The Bucket by M.K. Moen         Bernier River by Christine Dupres         Silence by Margie Lee         Advice by Donna Prinzmetal         Sometimes at Night by Jennifer Pratt-Walter         Fissure by Elizabeth Moscoso         Whale by Cathy Cain         In the Modern World by Annie Lightheart         Love poem to an acquaintance by Allegra Heidelinde         Dialogue between Magician and Tattooist by Christine Gray         Under the sign of the water bearer by Jennifer Kemnitz         city spacious heart by Pearl Waldorf PROSE         Bless Our Great Nation, Zambia! Zambia! by Gypsy Martin         Liminal by Stephanie Golisch         The Tomorrow Fire by Kelly Coughlin         Ablaze by Heather Durham         Left As It Was, It Would Come Apart by Jackie Shannon-Hollis ART         Sibling 1 by Michelle Latham         Sibling 2 by Michelle Latham         Sibling 3 by Michelle Latham         Totem by Kelly Neidig         Stratum by Kelly Neidig         Swift by Kelly Neidig         Breaking Free by Erin Leichty         Capture Threads by Erin Leichty         Hardware by Erin Leichty YOUNG VOICES         Visions on the Playground by Meghana Mysore         Chasing Thunder by Berkeley Franklin         Elegy for Christy by Lily Boyd         Social Media by Maya Coseo         A Hundred Acre Wood by Audra McNamee CONTRIBUTORS