Editor's Note

Dear Reader,

Our cover art, “Yellow Field 2,” an acrylic on paper, 8 1/2 X 11, is the work of artist Tammy Ruggles. Born with RP (Retinitis Pigmentosa), a progressive disorder that destroys the retina over time, Tammy worked as a representational artist from the age of 12 until she could no longer see the landscape or objects she was trying to paint and draw. During the various stages of losing her vision, rather than quit what she loved, Tammy discovered alternative ways to practice art, and now blind, she finger paints from intuition. “With a brush, you have to see where it's going and what shapes it's making. Fingerpainting, I feel the painting happen under my fingertips.” She enjoys gallery exhibits, but beyond the professional success her art brings, she hopes to inspire others to keep doing what they love, despite the obstacles.

The poets in Issue 61 know about intuition. Check out Clyde Kessler's “The Heritage Mask,” Karen An-hwei Lee's “At the Garden of Divinity,” the poems of Ryan Vine and John Sibley Williams.

We are back from vacations, submissions are open again, most of our staff are back at their day jobs, and The Cortland Review's poetry streamer continues to randomly select poems in audio from our archives. Click on “Poetry Streamer” in our menu at the top of the page, and you never know who will pop up for you to listen to and read. Maybe it will even be you. And don't overlook our News Column. Poetry news is better than ever with the announcement of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the ten poets on the longlist for the National Book Award, and accessible to the public for the first time in 150 years, 140 anti-slavery poems by African-American poets published in two New York based newspapers during the Civil War, as well as the announcement that submissions are open for The Frost Place's Dartmouth Poet in Residence prize and The Frost Place Chapbook Award. Special thanks to TCR's own Dallas Lee for his eagle eye and his nose for news. Remember to check the news column often. Dallas stays busy out there and adds new items every week. Thanks, too, to our poetry and fiction editors Jennifer Wallace, Anna Catone, Christian Gullette and Elizabeth Cornell for the high aesthetic standard of what you're reading in our pages, and our contributing editor, David Rigsbee for his book reviews, Amy MacLennan for being my right hand, as well as Rick Tracy, our photo specialist. There aren't thanks enough for our tech geniuses: Web Manager, David Moody, and founder, builder and architect, Guy Shahar, for what it takes to get the whole thing to you. And every last one of them an unpaid volunteer. Mostly, I don't want to forget to thank you, our readers and contributors. It's you we are here for.

With that, Cheers! Enjoy the poetry and fiction we have for you in Issue 61…and the beautiful fall on its way.

Ginger Murchison
Editor