Introduction
Summer 2016 is upon us and VoiceCatcher poetry editors are once again proud to highlight the work of women poets from the Portland area. These poems, culled from the impressive submissions we received, demonstrate the powerful female creative force thriving in our region.
Summer 2016 promises to be one of the hottest on record, as our planet grapples with continuing climate change, and also sees our nation heading into a bitter election season that could alter the course of history. Many of the poems you will find in this issue also address change and our ways of coping with it. From watching our parents age as in “Caramel is Made at the Verge of Burning” to growing into our own identities like the speaker of “on my two thousand, seven hundred and fourth sabbath,” the poets included in this collection fearlessly explore the uncertainty and discomfort wrought by change, as well as the opportunities it can present.
Carol Ellis asks in “Approaching Seventy,” How did we become and hold to what we are? This question sums up the overarching theme of the poems in the Summer 2016 issue of VoiceCatcher, and it is also a question to bear in mind as we collectively move toward a future that we must define for ourselves.
Stay cool this summer, and stay hungry for poetry.
Sarah Brenner, Juleen Johnson
and Emily Ransdell
Poetry Co-Editors