Whew. What a season. Turnover in our editorialship, and the Red Sox won? So, y’all understand why this issue is coming out so close to the end of the year, don’t you?

You may recognize the first poem in this issue, “A Heartbroken Expression of Our Time.” This beautiful poem by Mercedes Lawry was in our last issue, but unfortunately, the final line was deleted during the printing process. We apologize profusely and present the poem here in its original uncut version. We certainly regret the error, but the poem would be worthy of a second printing, error notwithstanding.

In happier news, we welcome Emily Bedard as the newest editor of our collective. Emily is a careful and perceptive reader, a strong editor, and an all-around lovely person to work with. In addition, she is a tremendous poet herself, as evidenced by a former contribution to Crab Creek’s very pages!

Thanks to those who caught us at the Hugo House’s Library Talks in November where we discussed editorial taste and the somewhat slippery pursuit of getting published. We always enjoy emerging from our dark caves to speak with writers and readers in the community. For those story-tellers and poets out there who missed the discussion but wonder what it takes to get into a literary magazine, we remind you that it takes talent, heart, and many, many revisions. In return for your toil, you will find editors who are genuinely excited by the work they read, who look for reasons to accept rather than grounds for rejection, and who are continually thankful for your craft and risk-taking.

And finally, a shout-out to our beloved Harris, who is spending this year teaching, and learning, in Turkey as a Fulbright instructor. We wish him many happy adventures and a speedy and jubilant return to Crab Creek’s currents.