from the ether
Margaret Ingles © 2026
On our Founder’s Feature~
In memoriam, J. P. Dancing Bear
(1961 – 2026)
“I began working on Disquieting Muses in 1997,” J. P. Dancing Bear wrote in a final farewell to the online journal he’d help begin six years earlier. “There were ten editors and we were wondering what we should name this new venture we were starting. I suggested the name Disquieting Muses after the painting by DeChirico and the poem by Sylvia Plath. The magazine released three issues then folded under the weight of 10 very opinionated editors.” (read his full letter here)
At that time, ’zines, as online publications were then commonly called, were rather suspect, barely considered credible publication credits. Most of those early ’zines came and went, as did Disquieting Muses itself for two short years. However, since 1999—last millennium! —Disquieting Muses Quarterly, (shortened by Bear to its current acronym, “to help distance the magazine from its early angst-narrative beginnings”), has faithfully and continuously brought hundreds of poets into now-respected publication, a legacy we’ve been proud to carry on.
“The thing about a magazine is that it is a labor of love . . . But there’s all of the joy of being able to present a good poem and good art,” Bear went on to say. I couldn’t agree more. His vision and his commitment to that joy led him on to new ventures in publication, including the print journal, the American Poetry Journal, and up until he fell ill, the online Verse Daily. For over 30 years Bear searched for and curated new poems for that site, delivered daily to any subscriber for free. Such offerings, besides his own 16 published books of poetry, demonstrate his generous contributions to the life of poetry and to the careers of poets, their books, and literary journals alike. How grateful we have all been, poets and publishers, for his service.
I’m proud to say that one of my earliest poetry bylines was under his DMQ Review curation in 2002.
And so it’s with both admiration and profound sorrow that we now offer in this issue what had been planned as a tribute to the living poet, our founding editor, J. P. Dancing Bear. Instead, a selection of his poems, both new and previously published, are now featured in memoriam. Reading his work, you’ll recognize his own poetic artistry, something he nurtured all the while promoting the work of so many others.
We’re equally proud to include the evocative images of artist Margaret Ingles, fitting tribute not only to Bear but to the poems of each of our contributors. Poems as paintings; paintings as poems. And do check out the image paired with Donna Vorreyer’s poem. In nanofiche form, the painting, like the artist pictured there, now actually resides on the Moon as part of the Lunar Codex. Amazing!
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For over 22 years since Bear invited me to take over editing DMQ Review in his stead, the production and expenses of the journal’s publication has rested with me. Truly, the energizing support of our variety of brilliant and passionate editorial teams reading your work alongside me have kept the journal, and me as its proud Editor in Chief, thriving, filling various niches in the poetry community. It has been a joy, but it’s been a lot.
Therefore, I’m pleased to announce that current Senior Editor Hilary King has recently agreed to partner with me as our new Coeditor to help keep our traditions alive starting with the next issue, Spring 2027. No, I’m not leaving, at least not yet, just finding an easier way forward. We’ll work together with the rest of our fantastic team to insure DMQ Review continues to be a place to enjoy and submit poetry.
And as ever, we appreciate you for reading with us.
Be well.
from the Ether
Sally Ashton
Editor in Chief