Here in central Florida, the move toward fall is a subtle one. Summer’s afternoon storms still arrive almost every day, but as we make our way through September, there is the turning of the occasional leaf, and sometimes, a pre-dawn hint of cooler temperatures to come.

While I’m glad to be back in Florida, close to open water but in a part of the state filled with lakes and hills, I do find myself missing the turning of the seasons: the sudden falling of leaves, the crisp edge on the air, and the ways that this cycle offers a lens through which we might understand something of our lives. Tan Lixin’s poem “Where Winter Does Not Go,” which concludes this issue, explores this relationship between people and the seasons, suggesting that the coming of winter might offer the time and space “to lay / our mistakes to rest so we can start again.”

Issue Twenty-Two opens with a pair of poems from long-time contributor Rob Hardy–the first of these comes from the depths of winter and just might break your heart, while the second offers a hope that comes from “the shelter of each other’s care.” The issue also features poetry and prose by Lynn Aprill, Susan Ayres, Becky Boling, Will Cordeiro, Barbara Daniels, Andrea Janelle Dickens, Jo Angela Edwins, Anna Ferris, Howie Good, Catherine Hamrick, Karen Kilcup, Steven McCown, Victoria Melekian, Ana Pugatch, CTD Robinson, Tan Lixin, and Dilys Wyndham Thomas.

Digital and print versions of our fall issue are available through Mag Cloud. Digital versions of the issue are free, and perfect-bound print copies of the issue will cost twelve dollars. You can order print copies and read the issue online at this link.