Editor's Note

After the fire, a moment comes when one can observe the damage: The charred remains. What is left behind. The thin column of smoke that also rises. Very seldom is the observer looking for beauty in the aftermath of catastrophe. Instead, human beings are wired to seek and notice patterns, then we make decisions based on those signals.

Like columns of smoke lifting into the sky, the poets and artists in this collection provide beacons. These poems are confessions, are observances, decisions, aurors. We are delighted to share the work of all our contributors with you, including art and poetry by Jim Zola and poems from ​Daniel Edward Moore, Terri Muuss, Jake Sheff, Molly Day, and Sarah Joyce Bersonsage, Our Fire Folio features a review of Darren Demaree's collection of poems from Nixes Mate Press, A Fire Without Light​, also a beacon.

For some, running away is instinct. The bulb of fear grows hot in the chest, and the body tenses, ready to bolt. Like Lot's wife, we can feel the need to turn around, whether it be for nostalgia's sake or to witness the destruction. Sometimes,leaning in to the apocalypse can drive the observer to freeze or become a pillar of salt. Other times, our bodies surprise us, reminding that we can act in mysterious and sudden ways. Sometimes, the body rises up to face the fire. 

Together, we will winnow the path forward. 

​Joy Bowman
Shaun Turner
co-editors, Fire Poetry
February 28, 2018

Fire Poetry Issue Three (Winter 2018)

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Featured Artist:

Jim Zola

Fire Folio: Darren C. Demaree

Poems by:

Jim Zola
​Daniel Edward Moore
​Terri Muuss
​Jake Sheff
Molly Day
Sarah Joyce Bersonsage

Fire Poetry, Issue Three (Winter 2018)
Editors: Shaun Turner and Joy Bowman
Cover Art: Warren Bielenberg, National Park Service.