Letter from the Editor, July
2002
Mid-summer and we crawl along...I love the heat and sunny days, but wow, it is hard to function and do work. I really just want to swim or hang around in the shade and do nothing. Sometimes the functioning struggle makes everything harder. The memories of our dead loved ones, the holes where laughter and summer fun should be, these thing are made all the more clear on those days when we just want to be free of anything heavy or demanding. But grief remains regardless of the weather.
So what can we do? I can only answer for myself. I write. I read. I make art. Sometimes it's just sidewalk chalk art. Sometimes it's pressed flowers for bookmaking. Sometimes it's poetry -- though I must admit I seem to write really awful poetry in hot weather. And sometimes I look for ways to honor the memory of my son and thereby satisfy some some thirst I have to hold him and see him and be with him.
My hope this issue is to bring you a bit of all those things. There's a lot of poetry this issue. We all seem to be aching for our kids. There are a couple of reviews. I highly recommend Stillborn: The Invisible Death if you can find a copy. It's an amazing piece of work by John DeFrain. We have some more information about PCOS from my personal perspective and journey so far. And we have information about the National MISS Blood Drive. Hope you will give blood and then let us know the name of the child you honored by doing so. We'll gladly offer a memorial to them in our Honored Children, the virtual memorial garden here at KotaPress.
It's a little of everything. Hope something helps to get you through the long days.
Miracles to you!
This page is dedicated to Dakota
Born and died March 11, 1999
Author Biography
Kara lives on Vashon Island which is a much more
awesome place than she ever imagined it would be. She is a poet, bookmaker,
wife, teacher, mother to a stillborn son, facilitator, receptionist, founder,
struggling p.t.barnum, turtle faithful, editor, artist, and a million
other things that will prevent you from putting her in any one particular
label box! Kara teaches through local art centers, artists in the schools
programs, KotaPress and independently. To find out more about her, see:
http://www.KotaPress.com/kara/karajones.htm
And her class Expanding Poetry is now available in an online format from CourseBridge.com where you can register today at:
http://www.coursebridge.com/html/courses/writing/cbep01.asp
