Issue 17 – Our New Wild Feast

The issue introduction inevitably arrives at our party long after the guests have assembled at the table. Carolyn stands there, ready to launch our new wild feast, and I pretend not to be nervous when she raises her eyebrows and points at her watch for the umpteenth time.

I grimace, because I know what to expect: the new issue introduction always enters with a stumble, its tie askew and a different color shoe on each foot. It weaves haphazardly with stutters and stops, and it mumbles a vague, unprintable anecdote that has little to do with travel or writing. I hustle it off to the kitchen and try not to catch anyone’s eye.

Outside I hear the small talk begin. We are ever-blessed with fantastic and surprising guests at these parties. Many are new faces, and some of them brand new: Steven Borzynski, Benjamin Bouvet-Bosclair, Alex Greenberg, Sachi Cote Kozel, Liz Lyon, and Sonny Z. All walk in happy and wide-eyed, saying, This is it – our first time in print. One enters with a falcon, another with his off-Broadway play. They come from California, Oklahoma, Hong Kong, and Ireland, and they bring everything: their children, their pets, their roads, their temples and their dreams.

And in the end, every beginning starts the same way. Out in the kitchen I wrestle the introduction into submission, brush it off and wave it over to the head of the table. It looks almost respectable as it stands there. A hush descends on the room, and all heads turn as we finally hear:

Dear authors and readers, new friends and old – we are so happy you could make it. Welcome to Issue 17.