Tomorrow I will be 52 years old. Each year on my birthday I consider what I have accomplished to that point and what I would like to accomplish in the years (I hope) ahead. My fifties have so far been marked, unfortunately, with a great deal of loss of friends and family and I know that it is the nature of life to expect more ahead. But I also am well aware of what good fortune I have had throughout my life: more than half of my life has been shared with Allison, and I couldnt be more blessed than that; my family has been a constant source of love, pride, and support; I have had so many extraordinary friends, colleagues, and students; and I have spent more than twenty years of my life doing work that I love and that has helped bring to readers the words of thousands of gifted writers. I know firsthand that poetry, fiction, and nonfiction matter in so many ways great and small and I am grateful to be a small part of helping that happen. Realizing that Crab Orchard Review will turn 20 years old during my 52nd year does make me feel that my time has been very well-spent. The privilege of editing the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry continues to be one my greatest sources of both pride and pleasure. There are sixty-three books now that I have helped shepherd into being (or are in the process of doing so) with the great help of Southern Illinois University Press and, of course, the talented poets who gave me the opportunity to edit their books. I am going to list all of them and their books in the comments below because I want to recognize how much working with these writers has meant to me. Being a part of your work has been among the greatest gifts in my life! Thank you all so much (and remembering especially Jake Adam York, whose work will always inspire me and whose friendship was a remarkable gift)!
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 23:57:16 +0000
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