Editor’s Note

Ashley Renselaer, Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Dear Readers,

How does one say goodbye? Perhaps no one has perfected the art of saying farewell as Mary Oliver did in her poem “In Blackwater Woods”: “to live in this world / you must be able / to do three things / to love what is mortal; / to hold it / against your bones knowing / your own life depends on it; / and, when the time comes to let it go, / to let it go”. In the summer of 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, when the world experienced immense isolation and emotional disconnect, I launched Words & Whispers with a particular vision in mind: to create a place where people of all backgrounds could come together, read each other’s poems and prose, step into one another’s emotional realm and feel connected and nurtured. I was humbled to see how my journal provided a safe refuge and a path to ending the emotional isolation through the power of writing and reading.

Moreover, we were tremendously fortunate to be receiving most impressive submissions of great poetry and prose ranging from established, award-winning writers to young burgeoning poets from all over the world.  Words & Whispers was one of the first online publications that provided a forum for the Black Lives Matter movement and the political spirit of the time. We were always on the lookout for poets who would push conventional boundaries, eager to experiment, creating impactful, out-of-the-ordinary poems. Every single poem and prose that we published in our issues reflected our ethos of diversity and difference in language, form, style, tone, and content. Over and over again, our poets reminded us that poetry is the heart of the creative soul, and in essence, the key to our common humanity.  

Our journal’s fundamental ethos continues to resonate through all of our submissions in the final issue. Through the power of metaphors in her brilliant poem “Summer Supper”, Sam Moe grants us insight into personal trauma: “smooth and quiet. My skin is my fur is blown about / by the wind. You arrive after the mothers have gone / and the warnings were plenty, yet you’re here with / a lamp in one hand, my cheesecloth heart in the other”.  Also, in this issue, Salvatore Dilfaco’s poem “Self-portrait in Air” shows the reader the intersection between poetry and painting: “Free styling doesn’t flush everyone with euphoria. / Many desire stairs or ladders or sturdy handrails / to reach their comforting plateaus and plazas. / And who could fault them when everything fails, / even our finest machines and conceptions?”.  Elsewhere in the issue, Virginia Watt’s beautiful poem “Angel” sweeps us into the realm of childhood undone by adults. Our entire issue 13 is filled with powerful, brilliant, spell-binding poems and prose.

I would like to thank all the poets and writers who have submitted their work during the last three years; they have been the heart and soul of our journal. But, most of all, I would like to thank our loyal readers for their continued support and inspiration. Words & Whispers has been a true labor of love, and following Mary Oliver’s sentiments, I will forever hold it close to my bones, as if my life depended on it, even if it is time to let it go.

Humbly,

Ashley Renselaer
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
Words & Whispers Literary Journal