Hello Readers!
TIMBER 8.2, CONFLAGRATION, is here! We are so excited for the poetry, prose, and visual poetry in this issue. It is on fire!
As a journal run primarily by MFA students at the University of Colorado-Boulder, our summer issues are always bittersweet as we say goodbye to one masthead and hello to the next! It has been an honor to serve as Managing Editor this past year as we transitioned to our online format. We are now a biannual journal with open submissions for our winter issue and a themed summer issue. I am so excited to see how TIMBER grows in the coming years.
I have had the privilege of working with some amazing editors this past year. Whitney Kerutis has been an incredible Poetry Editor who is now running her own journal called GASHER. Jessica Lawson has single-handedly curated our Visual Poetry section. Sam Chirtel and Hillary Susz have selected some amazing prose for the CONFLAGRATION issue. Copyeditor Marcus Williams works multiple jobs for TIMBER as we prepare to publish each issue. All five are leaving TIMBER and are incredible writers themselves. Watch out for their work!
Assistant Managing Editor Chris Becker will take over the journal next year. I am so excited for what she will do! Social Media Coordinator Mike Ranellone will become our new Poetry Editor after two years helping us out on social media. Rachel Cruea, Interviews and Reviews Coordinator, will become our new Assistant Managing Editor. Web Editor, Lukas Devries, has been instrumental in everything we've done this year transitioning to a new format. Always reliable, he's made my job easy. He will return in the same role next year.
We also have some incredible readers who will transition into leadership roles. Phuong T. Vuong, who wrote a stellar book review and conducted a thought-provoking interview in the last couple weeks, will serve as our Interviews and Reviews Coordinator. Stephen Mruzik becomes Social Media Coordinator. Bree Pye and Reed Underwood will serve as our new Prose Editors. Elana Friedland will serve as our new Visual Poetry Editor. A bright future ahead! Thanks to all of our other poetry and prose readers: Amber Manning, Jo Klevdal, Krista Davis, Mathieu LaGrenade, Nilu Karimi, Tarah Dykeman, Tarren Andrews, Travis Zimpfer, Ethan Cohen, Jess Nieberg, and Amanda Curtado.
As the summer heats up, with literal and metaphorical fires threatening our political, social, and ecological worlds, we hope these pieces of literature speak to you as they have spoken to us. The contributors to CONFLAGRATION have their pulses on something that feels urgent—words that need to be said. We at TIMBER are dedicated to publishing and promoting innovative art and literature by new and established authors. We thank you for your support and hope you enjoy TIMBER 8.2. After a summer hiatus, we will call for submissions in the fall to our open issue, TIMBER 9.1.
Until then, thank you for reading, and attend to the fires in your world and the fires these pieces start in you.
Be well,
Rushi Vyas
Managing Editor