by Leah Silvieus In Xoxocotlán Cemetery tonight, the night before El Día De Los Muertos, life and death sit vigil together: families picnic while setting up shrines for their loved ones, grandmothers hold babies while parents arrange flowers on the headstones. The night is still beneath the nearly full moon, and the air blooms with … Continue reading “The Heart Dies of This Sweetness”: On Endings
Many Parishes by Adrian Gibbons Koesters BrickHouse Books, 2013 Hard, dense, sometimes frightening, Koesters' collection leaves me in awe of her ability and fearlessness. While we were at Rainier Writing Workshop (Pacific Lutheran University) together, I saw her quick mind, sense of humor, and obvious skills. I had no idea of the depth of her experience. Many … Continue reading Review of Many Parishes by Adrian Gibbons Koesters
Although it's pretty darned wintry here at R&S HQ, we thought we'd share a poem that anticipates a greener season. Enjoy "Gardens" by R&S subscriber Casey Crosby. Gardens My grandparents still remember my name but they forgot about their gardens. I think of how years ago they would harvest peas and rhubarb and tomatoes and … Continue reading Garden Thoughts Bloom In The Bleak Mid-Winter
Those of us here at Rock & Sling are pleased as punch that our editor, Thom Caraway, has just been named the first poet laureate of Spokane. In this role, Thom "will serve as an ambassador for Spokane’s literary community, presenting his work publicly several times a year in an effort to encourage interest in poetry," … Continue reading R&S Editor Thom Caraway Named Spokane’s First Poet Laureate
John Taylor is an R&S editorial assistant and recent Whitworth grad. He interviewed contributor Jeff Dodd. John Taylor : You’ve said that much of your poetry is obsession poetry, namely your Horoscope poems and your Nakagawa poems. What do you mean by obsession poems? Jeff Dodd: I think I’m interested in the obsessive mind, which … Continue reading An Interview with Jeff Dodd
by Emily Grant Dave Harrity, featured in Rock & Sling (vol. 8.1) is the creator of Antler. According to their web site, “through onsite workshops, print media, and digital content, ANTLER exists to help people engage creativity as a devotional practice for spiritual formation." Harrity is the author of recently released Making Manifest, a compilation of … Continue reading An Interview With Antler’s Dave Harrity
by Matthew Burns At the small rural school where I’ve been teaching for almost two years, I’ve apparently managed to become known within student circles (or so I’ve heard) as “the depressing professor.” That’s balanced a little by the “really helpful” and “funny” comments, sure, but these latter descriptors are intentional; I actively work to … Continue reading Reading, Writing, and Teaching the Dead
by Ann Huston The first poem I remember writing happened in the middle of church on a Sunday morning. I was in elementary school, and the poem was about sitting by a fire, feeling the warmth emanating from it. That I wrote it in church speaks to my comfort in that setting. Writing can be … Continue reading Ongoing Poetry, God, and the Natural World
by Kathryn Smith “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. As soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.” Luke 21:29-30 Look at the fig tree: An ancient genus, Ficus is one of the oldest known cultivated food sources. Fossilized figs have been found … Continue reading Overthinking the parables: the fig tree
by Nathan Hauke I’m given to write poems. I cannot anticipate their occasion —R Creeley, A Quick Graph It’s December already and the windows are dark. The reflection of a lamp on our bedside table throws the living room through itself like a shipwreck. An orchestra pulsing at my natural frequency begins to harmonize with … Continue reading Midnight Orchard
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