Dear Reader,
I’m so happy that you’ve picked up heat, our third issue of Nightingale & Sparrow. This is our biggest issue yet—packed with poetry, prose, and photography from more than 70 contributors from across the globe. We have quite a few returning contributors, who’ve been an instrumental part of Nightingale & Sparrow from the very start. And, just as importantly, we have a slew of brand-new birds welcomed into the Nightingale & Sparrow nest.
As I write this letter, Nightingale & Sparrow is in the midst of some exciting additions and changes. We’ve continued to grow, and will continue to expand our team, our community, and our offerings well into the future. We’ll soon be announcing our 2020 themes for this literary magazine, and our press and its activist imprint share some publishing plans that we can hardly wait to share.
Of course, none of this would be possible without our incredible community. From each individual submitter, to our phenomenal team (Emma, Megan, and Kim—thank you, as always, for your hard work!), countless people play a critical role in the growth and continuation of our corner of the literary space. And these crucial players are the reason you can read this issue.
When we announced submissions for heat, I had no idea I’d be reading and editing work in the midst of a series of literal heat waves! But truly, these pieces didn’t need such a setting—they brought up the temperature effortlessly. We asked submitters to send us “sunshine and bonfires…fireworks and rendezvous, beach scenes and bedrooms,” and they certainly delivered.
From those submissions, we’re thrilled to bring you the selections herein. Feel the seductive drip of sweet fruit juice in Margaret King’s “I Should Be Writing/Mango”, and the tang of pomegranate in Mollie Williamson’s “Persephone”. Quench your thirst with Lynne Schmidt’s “Remember to Drink Water” and step onto the beach with the opening stanza of “First Date Not Counting Lester Duncan”. Step into the fire of words and images making up heat and feel the sparks surround you.
As always, thank you to every submitter, contributor, reader, supporter, and staff member who’ve made heat and Nightingale & Sparrow more generally. I hope you enjoy issue III as much as I have, and I can’t wait to see what’s to come in issue IV, nevermore, this Halloween!
Juliette Sebock
Editor-in-Chief, Nightingale and Sparrow
