EDITOR'S LETTER

While I don’t expect the writing in a literary journal like Gordon Square Review to respond immediately to current events, the political, social, and public health crises of 2020 could not possibly be overlooked. As a result, some of the pieces in our seventh issue address the turmoil of this year. Essays like “Mask Orders,” “Locks Unlocked,” and “Collage,” face the COVID-19 pandemic head-on; Eric Odynocki’s “Home” speaks to our nation’s immigration tensions; and the poems in our Youth Outlet section address police brutality and grief as well as flickers of joy and celebration.
 
This issue also contains earthquakes and shopping malls and theremins and so much more to transport readers to other worlds and remind us, during this bleak year, of the beauty and resilience to be found in literature. We’re proud to feature Northeast Ohio writers (those who either currently live in or are from Northeast Ohio) Teri Ellen Cross Davis, DT McCrea, Fatima Matar, Megan Neville, and Emily Waples in this issue. Our editorial mentorships went to Laura Maloney, who worked with Ali Black; Tiffany Mi, whom I had the pleasure of working with, and Zenas Ubere, who worked with our new Prose Editor, Nardine Taleb.
 
Poetry Editor Ali Black selected the poems that appear in this issue’s Youth Outlet section, which were written by participants in the West Side Community House’s Summer of Sisterhood program. Summer of Sisterhood is an intensive summer arts camp designed to teach inner-city girls how creative expression can transform a community and positively impact public perception. The Youth Outlet poem “Broken” also marks the first collaborative piece Gordon Square Review has published.
 
In such a dark year, we’re grateful to have colorful, vibrant cover art grace our digital pages. Issue 7’s cover represents a partnership between GSR and Cleveland artist Jordan Wong. Wong’s Super Mega Wonder 1999 is a public artwork and little library project that aims “to inspire the next generation of Asian American artists and creative professionals by imagining new opportunities for community placemaking, exchange, and programming in Cleveland’s AsiaTown.”
 
When I spoke to Wong about his work, he called Super Mega Wonder 1999 “physical evidence of wonder and imagination” and “a way to encourage others to pursue something imaginative.” This project has the capacity to celebrate art while building community, which perfectly aligns with Gordon Square Review’s own mission. I invite you to learn more about Super Mega Wonder 1999 and how you can help this project become a reality. 
 
GSR Staff Changes
 
Among this year of the pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests, political upheaval, and so much more, 2020 has also been a time of change and transition for Gordon Square Review and our parent organization, Literary Cleveland. First, we said goodbye this summer to Christine Howey, who left her role as Executive Director of Literary Cleveland after contributing so much good to the organization. Matt Weinkam has since taken the reins as Executive Director and stepped down from his editorial duties at GSR.
 
If you’d told me a year ago that Matt would leave his post as Prose Editor, I surely would have panicked. Thankfully, having his leadership at Literary Cleveland—does anyone care more for writers in our region or work more tirelessly than Matt?—makes this transition a purely happy one. It also allowed us to welcome Nardine Taleb as our new Prose Editor, whose fresh insight and perspective is already proving invaluable.
 
“It's been a joy and an honor to help build this journal alongside Laura and Ali,” Matt said. “A position like this is such a gift to the career of a local writer, so I’m thrilled to pass to torch to someone as talented and enthusiastic as Nardine who will help take the journal to new heights.”
 
This issue also marks the last for Poetry Editor Ali Black, which is a loss for our journal that I’m still working to absorb. Ali has been with GSR since the beginning and has read every last poetry submission. She does it all, and we are beyond privileged to have benefitted from her sharp editorial eye and her leadership. To celebrate Ali’s work, I encourage you to buy and read her debut poetry collection, If It Heals At All, which will be published this December by Jacar Press (contact [email protected] to place an order). Congratulations, Ali! But as I wait for my copy of her collection to arrive, I asked Ali if she has any parting words:
 
“First, let me just acknowledge that this was my first time serving as a poetry editor for a literary publication. Thank you GSR for the opportunity," Ali said. "I’m so glad I get to say the publication is based out of my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. It’s been a pleasure working with everyone who contributes or has contributed to the journal in some way—our writers, editors (Laura Walter and Matt Weinkam), guest judges (Phil Metres and Kisha Nicole Foster) and first readers.”
 
While it’s hard to say goodbye to experienced editors like Matt and Ali, the spirit of GSR includes giving new opportunities to writers in the Cleveland area to nurture emerging talent and literary careers. Speaking of which, we’re so grateful for the volunteer readers who helped us read and select submissions. Regis Coustillac, Meredith Holmes, and Tomas Rybak helped Ali read hundreds of poetry submissions for Issue 7. On the prose side, Nardine and I worked with Jackie Krogmeier, Alexandra Magearu, and Valli Jo Porter. Thank you, thank you, thank you to these readers who lent us their time, effort, and insights to shape Issue 7.
 
As always, huge thanks to the board and staff at Literary Cleveland for making GSR possible. We’re still here, even in the chaos of 2020, and we’re so thrilled to share the work in Issue 7 with you. Stay safe, stay healthy, and allow your creative light to cut through the darkness.
 
​Laura Maylene Walter
Editor-in-Chief

Laura Maylene Walter

Laura Maylene Walter is a writer and editor in Cleveland. Her debut novel, Body of Stars, is forthcoming from Dutton. Her writing has appeared in Poets & Writers, The Sun, Kenyon Review, Ninth Letter, Michigan Quarterly Review, and elsewhere. She has been a Yaddo Fellow, a Tin House Writers’ Workshop Scholar, the recipient of the Ohioana Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant, and a past Fiction Editor of Mid-American Review. Her debut story collection, Living Arrangements (BkMk Press), won the G.S. Sharat Chandra Prize. Laura holds an MFA from Bowling Green State University, teaches workshops for Literary Cleveland, blogs for the Kenyon Review, and works for Cleveland Public Library.