Dear Reader,
Following our last issue, the Halloween-themed nevermore, it was only fitting that we enter 2020 with a testament to all things love, just in time for Valentine’s Day. It’s hard not to feel the love surrounded by chocolate hearts, Hallmark cards, and candlelit dinners for two! And, if you’ll allow me to indulge in self-promotion for just a moment, my chapbook, Three Words, a bittersweet love story itself, recently came out with Bottlecap Press, so the topic was fresh in my mind while reading through these submissions. That being said, I’m so incredibly excited to share this issue of Nightingale & Sparrow with you!
2020 so far has been a great year for us here at N&S, with new staff members, new books (and at least 20 titles to come through the new year!), and new endeavours. But it’s also seen its share of frustrations already, with sickness, life changes, and political strife taking precedence in our day to day lives. With that in mind, I owe a huge thank you to our team for working together to bring this issue into the world despite it all.
And, of course, we owe tremendous amounts of gratitude elsewhere: to our submitters and contributors, our readers (hello!), our followers across social media, our customers who pick up copies of our books and magazine issues, and our supporters on Ko-Fi. Every word read, post shared, and dollar spent or donated truly means the world.
Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this issue of Nightingale & Sparrow. We asked submitters to share their “mushiest, gushiest, lovey-dovey-est work,” and they delivered all that and more. Read through images of love in droplets of ink with pieces like “Unlocked” by December Lace and “Inkwell” by Jason Whitt and within the depths of a warm mug in Catherine Thoms’ “Coffee Date” and Anne White’s “Coffee Courtship.” You’ll hear love songs in the mundane and discover sonnets in the defining moments of a lifetime, or of two lives becoming one. You might just find yourself falling in love along the way.
Happy Valentine’s Day and remember—we here at N&S hold a special place in our hearts for all of you who help make publications like this one possible!
Juliette Sebock
Editor-in-Chief, Nightingale and Sparrow