It is truly an honor to introduce the twenty-first issue of Tupelo Quarterly. In addition to featuring new work by such literary luminaries as Karla Kelsey, Jeffrey Pethybridge, Brandon Shimoda, Elisa Gabbert, Denise Duhamel, & Julie Marie Wade, we are excited to highlight several exciting new voices in the literary arts. Aaron LaPatin, for instance, shows us the myriad ways that poetry can bridge philosophical and artistic traditions in a folio that is impressive in its scope and ambition. Jenny Minitti-Shippey, whose star is also rising, shows us the beauty inherent in domestic life, uncertainty, & the unknowable in poems that are both lucid and understated.
This issue is one of our best ones yet, representing a full range of aesthetic approaches, formal predilections, and writerly influences. In many ways, this diversity arises from our Senior and Associate Editors’ impressive array of critical and creative projects, and the infinitely varied questions they ask of language. As always, it is a pleasure to showcase their interests in our Editorial Features section, highlighting the myriad influences that shape our magazine and its offerings. Similarly, our Editors’ Selections in Poetry, Prose, and Visual Art showcase work that has been important to our editors’ development as creative practitioners and critical thinkers.
From all of us at TQ, we hope you will peruse the magazine’s vast and luminous offerings. Happy summer, and enjoy!