It is truly an honor to introduce the twenty-fourth issue of Tupelo Quarterly, which celebrates and honors the work of writers of color. We are thrilled to announce the winners, runners-up, finalists, and semi-finalists of our recent juried contests. Thank you to CM Burroughs and Samuel Kọ́láwọlé for their exciting selections, and gratitude to everyone who submitted work for our consideration. We were truly honored to review such skilled and visionary submissions, in such astonishing numbers. In addition to celebrating the work of our contest winners and finalists, we are excited to highlight several exciting new voices in the literary arts. Jiarong Zhang, for instance, shows us the myriad ways that poetry can bridge the gap between tradition and innovation in a folio that is impressive in its scope and ambition. Jen Mediano, whose star is also rising, shows us the beauty inherent in sensory experience, uncertainty, & the unknowable in a poem that is 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!