summer 2006

Rain Dance   Ellen Bass
Two poems   Kevin Miller
Two poems   Leslie Shinn
Aubade   M.B. McLatchey
Violet  Stacie Leatherman
Two poems   Judy Kronenfeld
Two poems  Michelle Brown
I Think of My Grandfather  Lyn Lifshin
Dialectic  Rebecca Morgan Frank
Two poems   Jennifer Juneau
Two poems  Natalie Harris
I’m So Beat  Dennis Held
Driving to the James Wright Poetry Festival and Coming Home  Karen Schubert

Featured Poet   Nin Andrews

Visuals by 
Lynn Powers 

from the ether

On Rejection

One so familiar with rejection as myself would do well to have a good grip on the word. The Oxford English Dictionary puts it plainly. Rejection: f. re- + jacere to throw = to throw back

Ouch.

I am both a regular “rejecter,” as well as a frequent “rejectee,” submissions thrown back in my mailbox without explanation or much ink. Of course, neither aspect is easy. As Editor, the rejections I tender result from time and attention invested in the good-faith offering of a contributor, one worthy of respect if not always suited to the DMQ. Each is sent to and read individually by our editorial team members.

The literary rejections I receive come differently: sudden, swift and clinical with none of the care apparent I know goes into the process. Only the “Sorry” stands out, an arrow shot to the core. Our rejections likely have similar effect.

All creation bears rejection at its center. Writers reject a word, a phrase, a line, whole beginnings, an ending often completely rewritten. Characters eliminated. We reject form or free verse, style cherished by others. With some enthusiasm we dismiss a point of view, a voice, a whole era, and by these and countless decisions shape our creative endeavors toward some personal aesthetic that brings satisfaction. What could be better than creating?

Seeing that same work accepted and enjoyed by others, of course. And so we hang in the balance awkwardly.

In this spirit of commonality, in the ups and downs, the rejecter as well as rejected, we offer the Summer 2006 issue of the DMQ Review for your reading pleasure. We are proud of the work we present, aware of our part in the careful throwing back, the saving and the letting go, that marks and affirms creative accomplishment.

We wish our readers enjoyment in these poets’ fine work and especially thank our Featured Poet Nin Andrews for her poetry and thoughtful words on the importance of reading to the writing life excerpted from Poet’s Bookshelf. To our many contributors, published or not, we wish ongoing passion in your writing.

Regards,

Sally Ashton
Editor in Chief