EDITOR'S LETTER

Issue 7 Launch Party / November 2020

Last fall, as we prepared to host Gordon Square Review’s first virtual launch party, I expected the event to feel bittersweet. Before the pandemic, our in-person launch parties at local Cleveland bars were always a highlight for me. They allowed us to meet some of our contributors, celebrate our local literary scene, and raise a beer (or a hot dog, or a donut) to the newest issue of GSR. A launch party held via Zoom, I thought, simply wouldn’t be the same.
 
And it wasn’t the same—though in some ways, I’m happy to report that it was even better. We were able to welcome contributors from around the country and the world, writers who’d never be able to come to Cleveland for an in-person event. What we lacked in face time, we made up for in connection to writers from both near and far, and it was a delight. (Be sure to register for our Issue 8 virtual launch, held at 7pm ET on May 27, 2021.)
 
The success of that virtual launch has helped sustain our staff as we put together yet another issue during the pandemic. Still, things are looking up now as more people get vaccinated and as COVID-19 case rates drop, so I’m hopeful we’ll be able to meet in person again soon. In the meantime, the writing in Issue 8 delivers the energy and enthusiasm for the written word that makes GSR possible.
 
In this issue, we offer poems and prose that feature everything from rain and abductions to the harvest of longing. We’ve got the internal struggles of a minotaur child, ruminations on life and death, and no shortage of defiance and desire. In this issue, you can find previously unpublished writers, spotlighted Northeast Ohio writers, and writers not afraid to confront the dark, the beautiful, and the breathlessly weird.
 
Our Youth Outlet partner for Issue 8 is Twelve Literary Arts, a nonprofit organization that provides literary arts instruction and leadership development to elementary and high school-aged youth while offering an expanded slate of programming to adult poets, writers, and storytellers. Poetry Editor Jason Harris selected three pieces from Twelve Literary Arts writers for this issue. These writers clearly have bright futures, and we’re thrilled to include them in these (digital) pages.
 
For our editorial mentorship program, Prose Editor Nardine Taleb worked with S. Ferdowsi, I had the pleasure of working with Bonnie Brewer-Kraus, and Poetry Editor Jason Harris worked with Teri Vela. Issue 8 marks Jason’s first issue as our new Poetry Editor, and I’m thrilled we can claim him as part of our team. Jason is a hard-working, conscientious editor (as well as an amazing poet) who puts in the effort, time, and care to ensure writers receive the attention and respect they deserve. We are beyond lucky to have him on board. Welcome, Jason!
 
In addition to all the work Jason and Nardine poured into this issue as editors, our volunteer readers helped read submissions and engage in thoughtful discussions about the writing. In particular, Trent Kay Maverick and Sienna Zeilinger (prose) and Camille Ferguson and LaShon Sawyer (poetry) helped make this issue possible—thank you! We’re also grateful, as always, to Matt Weinkam and all the staff and board of Literary Cleveland for making Gordon Square Review possible.
 
Our Issue 8 cover art is courtesy of Cleveland artist Donald Black Jr. His photograph, Tangled, appears as a mural on Cleveland Public Library’s Harvey Rice Branch, and now we’re fortunate to have it grace our issue cover. I hope you’ll learn more about Black and his work by watching these videos and visiting his website.
 
As we put the final touches on this issue, I kept thinking of the following lines from Black’s bio:
 
“Here, there are no stories of happy endings, white picket fences, silver spoons or long lists of impressive schools, exhibitions and awards. Instituting himself and tabulating all of his accomplishments isn’t as impressive as knowing how serious and meaningful art is to the person who is doing it to stay alive.”
 
With those wise words in mind, I’d like to think the pieces of writing in Issue 8 of GSR reflect how serious and meaningful art can be—not only to our writers, but to our readers, our communities, and the larger world around us.

​Laura Maylene Walter
Editor in Chief

Laura Maylene Walter

Laura Maylene Walter is the editor in chief of Gordon Square Review and author of Body of Stars, her debut novel.