Introduction

Abstract

Introduction Ellen Doré Watson and Deb Gorlin I OWE A GREAT debt of gratitude to the Massachusetts Review for 35 years of joyous hard work and a wealth of education. As I step down from my role as poetry editor, I want to express my fervent thanks and reflect on an experience that has been a huge part of my life. I first came on board to co-edit the 1986 double issue on Latin America with Paul Jenkins, after we returned from 18 months living in Brazil—where Paul had a Fulbright for which he was recommended by Jules Chametzky, a founding editor of MR. Little did I know then that I would spend half of my life at the magazine, taking on the roles of business manager, managing editor, and then poetry translation and poetry editor. I'm grateful to my many colleagues over the years for enriching my literary life and for the endless high-spirited times we've shared. As Jim Hicks noted in his introduction to the last issue, we now undertake to go beyond our 60-year legacy of seeking out Black writers, artists, and thinkers—to diversifying our editorial board. This summer, Deborah Gorlin and I will retire from our posts as poetry editors. We asked Nathan McClain, friend and colleague from Hampshire College, to be the third judge for the annual Anne Halley Poetry Prize. A wonderfully lively session discussing the 50-some poems that had appeared in the last four issues of MR confirmed our expectation that Nathan would make a splendid choice to succeed us. We're thrilled that the other editors concurred and that he accepted the invitation. Nathan will bring new energy, experience, and vision to the post. (And we're delighted that he was willing to give us a poem of his own for this our last issue as editors.) The idea of A Gathering of Poets struck us as a fabulous way to mark the passing of the baton. Usually we see about a dozen poems folded in to each issue, so having all the poems we'd accepted since January 2020 live together in one volume is a welcome luxury. We're proud of the wild range of voices included here. As usual, the vast majority of these poems came in through the online submissions manager from writers altogether new to us—including Sage Ravenwood and [End Page 226] Tawanda Mulalu—who was born in Botswana and now teaches third grade in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A handful are by poets we've published before (Macker & Malboeuf & Lusk & Krumbach), and another handful are by poets whose work we know and admire. And then there are writers we sought after, like Isabel Zapata, whose work I read in The Common, leading me to track down her translator, Robin Myers, to request poems. And I confess: the fabulous, prize-winning poet Barbara Ras happens to be my best friend in the world; I coveted her poem "Herd" for MR the minute she finished reading it to me. (Happily, Deb loved it too!) Once we knew this would be our swansong issue, we couldn't resist writing to a number of poets we adore, many of whom zipped us work to consider at the very last minute. We're hugely grateful to all of the above! My last and most heartful thanks go to Deb. What a joy it has been to spend untold hours together swimming in poems. I cannot imagine a better partner in this work: a consummate reader of poems, whip-smart, articulate, various in her tastes, patient in her attention. She has made me a better reader and become a lifelong friend. And now we pass this bountiful spread of poems along to you. Feast, readers, feast! Ellen Doré Watson for the editors ________ EDITING POETRY for a literary magazine is an exposure to a great intimacy that must be approached tenderly. It's not as though you are reading instruction manuals. These are the words of poets who are putting their lives in, and in some instances on the line. The wonder of that individual enterprise, the aspiration itself, the particularities of poets and their...