Readers,

Welcome to our second poetry issue! From my first day reading entries to the poetry competition in June, I was excited to share the winning poems with you. We had many excellent entries from both new poets and those we have long admired. Thank you to all who participated. It was a gift to read your work.

So much of enjoying a poem is a matter of taste, which is why all our editors are involved in the selection process. Our tastes vary widely, and I love that about our team. But as different as our aesthetic preferences may be, there are poems that move us all. Something about the language, music, and imagery captures us. You’ll find those poems in this issue. We are also enormously grateful to our final judge Matthew E. Henry for bringing his poetic discernment to the process. We gave him a difficult job and were delighted to see his selections.

In addition to the winning poems, this issue includes two truly revelatory interviews. Poet Sofia M. Starnes explains how her experience with multiple languages and cultures has shaped her poetry, allowing her to celebrate the magic and power of words. Poet-priest Travis Helms shares his vision of how poetry and liturgy can work together to transform our imagination and faith. These poets remind us of why we read poetry, how the beauty of verse resonates both in and beyond us.

For me, poetry is an art of close attention and expansion. We attend to small things—syllables, lineation, articles—and hope that this consideration will allow the poem to expand, to communicate, to resonate with the stranger who happens upon our words. I trust that these poems will do that for you. They are certainly well worth your attention.

Fare Forward,

Whitney Rio-Ross, Poetry Editor