Introduction to Issue 38 • Cat People

I LOVE the way this issue turned out! It started as an experiment. I was hoping a narrow prompt, Cat People, would let us see clearly the differences in poetic voice and style. But I got more! With so many good poems submitted, I was also able to harmonize them thematically! I was thrilled with the way they came together!

I couldn’t have arranged this bouquet for you without the hundreds of poems sent in I could peruse and choose from. Thanks to every poet who submitted, not just the ones in the issue! 

On the idea of the theme: People for a very long time have imagined becoming something other than what they are. It’s what Ovid’s Metamorphoses is all about, but the idea goes much deeper into our past. Now, with science beginning to offer post-human possibilities, the idea stretches far into our future. 

Curled up in our past and stretching into our future. I find long introductions boring, so let me thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I do!

PS: and don’t forget to watch the movie by Val Lewton and Simone Simon!