Dream on.

The poets in this issue were selected from free open submissions to the Inaugural Year’s Discovery Contest. The winner is Joy KMT for “Old Time Religion” and the runner-up is Deshawn McKinney for “Go Back To Where You Came From, That Place.”

Joy KMT’s work utilizes experimental forms and a powerful voice to lyrically explore an afrofuturist “break in the programming.” Deshawn McKinney’s work makes beautiful music of dialect, including slang. His last line resonates: “leave a message.”

To recognize the creativity of a child of the Black diaspora, this issue includes an excerpt of Dania’s [“engulfed in a mold”] with a footnote dedication to Sandra Bland.

Sincerely,

Editor

Emily Spencer