Essay in THE BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS 2018;
(cited in BAE 2015, 2016, 2020); PUSHCART poetry finalist

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Summer 2022

It is a leap of faith to enter a writing contest. Believe me, I know.

I’ve done it for years, always forking over a fee, always pondering the things a submitter is bound to ponder: Does my cover letter matter? Does this journal really read every entry? Do the editors truly consider all entries for “regular” issues of the journal? Do the judges have any taste—or do they favor the usual me-first dreck passing for contemporary art?

Despite these questions, I inevitably entered, buoyed by the knowledge that if I won or earned an honorable mention, I’d have something to be proud of for the rest of my career. Art can be an applauseless journey, and any third-party recognition of one’s work can ferry a creator through dark and dire straits. Believe me, I know that too.

So, the first thing, or really, the fourth thing, I want to say (having dispensed with my own me-first dreck) is: Thank you. Thank you for taking the leap and entering. Thank you for paying the fee. Thank you for opening yourself up and writing something down. And thank you for sharing your writing with Solstice. We esteem every one of you. This Summer Contest Issue features our winners, runners-up, finalists, and editors’ picks, but it would not be possible without all of you who overcame your questions and entered. Congratulations to all of you!

Fiction

Winner: Rayne Weinstein

Runner-up: Danny Leonard

Finalists: Ian Lindsay, Aaron Tillman

Editors’ Pick: Christian Douglass, Laura Krughoff

Nonfiction

Winner: Elisha Emerson

Runner-up: Lynda Rushing

Finalists: Lisa K. Buchanan, Julia McKenzie Munemo, Diana Tokaji

Editors’ Picks: Ashley Memory, Amory Rowe Salem

Poetry

Winner: Carol Hobbs

Finalists: Sarah Browning, Rasheena Fountain, Gerard Robledo, Suphil Lee Park

Editors’ Picks: Kate Allore, Partridge Boswell, Mary Buchinger, Jed Myers, Donna Spruijt-Metz, Tamako Takamatsu, Nissa Valdez

Graphic Lit

Winner: Robert James Russell

Finalists: Corvin Buchwald, Ben Schachter

I invite you to click on the Poetry, Nonfiction, Fiction, and Graphic Lit Editors’ notes to read more about the amazing, award-winning writing in this issue. The issue also features outstanding photography from Lou Jones’s recent Kenya series. Thank you, Lou, for your wonderful work, in this issue and always. (You can find more of Lou’s photography at https://www.fotojones.com/.)

I also want to thank our distinguished judges: Jabari Asim (Fiction Prize), Alysia Abbott (Michael Steinberg Nonfiction Prize), Tomás Q. Morín (Stephen Dunn Poetry Prize), and Josh Neufeld (Graphic Lit Prize). We appreciate the time you took to review our entries, and we’re thrilled with your selections. Finally, I want to thank the Solstice staff: William Betcher, Barbara Siegel Carlson, Richard Cambridge, Ewa Chrusciel, Anjali Mitter Duva, Robbie Gamble, Richard Hoffman, Lee Hope, Jill Johnson, and Andrai Whitted.

Ilan Mochari

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editors' Notes

  • Editor’s Note
    by Ilan Mochari
  • Reviews and Interviews Note
    by Ilan Mochari
  • Poetry Editor’s Note
    by Robbie Gamble
  • Poetry in Translation Editors’ Note
    by Ewa Chrusciel and Barbara Siegel Carlson
  • Nonfiction Editor’s Note
    by Richard Hoffman
  • Fiction Co-Editors’ Note
    by Anjali Mitter Duva and Lee Hope
  • Graphic Lit Editor’s Note
    by Andrai Whitted

Fiction

  • Winner
    Fission
    by Rayne Weinstein
  • Runner-up
    Of Tides and Melons
    by Danny Leonard
  • Finalist
    Acting Out
    by Aaron Tillman
  • Finalist
    Big Boy
    by Ian Lindsay
  • Editors' Pick
    In Praise of Black Lovers
    by Christian Douglass
  • noteable
    Living Alone
    by Laura Krughoff

Graphic Lit

  • Winner
    Horses
    by Robert James Russell
  • Finalist
    Relief
    by Corvin Buchwald
  • Finalist
    Las Huellas del Diablo
    by Ben Schachter

Nonfiction

  • Winner
    The Lid and the Jar
    by Elisha Emerson
  • Runner-up
    Poison
    by Lynda Rushing
  • Finalist
    On Raising Black Children in Whitopia
    by Julia McKenzie Munemo
  • Finalist
    Pea Princess
    by Lisa K. Buchanan
  • Finalist
    20 Infusions
    by Diana Tokaji
  • Editors' Pick
    Fugitive in the Woods
    by Ashley Memory
  • Editors' Pick
    Family Poker
    by Amory Rowe Salem

Photography

  • panAFRICAproject: Kenya
    by Lou Jones

Poetry

  • Winner
    Polar Bear
    by Carol Hobbs
  • Finalist
    Dijon Kizzee Loved Anything on Wheels
    by Sarah Browning
  • Finalist
    Not An “Other” Climate Poem
    by Rasheena Fountain
  • Finalist
    The Valley of the Shadow of Death (Photography, 1855)
    by Gerard Robledo
  • Finalist
    There’s No Flower in War
    by Suphil Lee Park
  • Editors' Pick
    Calm is Your Color
    by Kate Allore
  • Editors' Pick
    Ravel
    by Partridge Boswell
  • Editors' Pick
    Motheren
    by Mary Buchinger
  • Editors' Pick
    On the Day of a Distant Invasion
    by Jed Myers
  • Editors' Pick
    Ghost Triolet
    by Donna Spruijt-Metz
  • Editors' Pick
    Starlight
    by Tamako Takamatsu
  • Editors' Pick
    childhood punctuated
    by Nissa Valdez

Poetry in translation

  • Three Poems by Serhiy Zhadan
    by Serhiy Zhadan, Virlana Tkacz and Wanda Phipps
  • Two Poems by Jacques Viau Renaud
    by Jacques Viau Renaud and Ariel Francisco
  • Two Poems by Bożena Boba-Dyga
    by Bożena Boba-Dyga, Kateryna Devdera and Ewa Chrusciel
  • Kateryna Devdera
    by Kateryna Devdera, Bożena Boba-Dyga and Ewa Chrusciel

Reviews & Interviews

  • Interview
    The Story That Knocked in Her Chest: An Interview with Author Toya Wolfe
    by Patricia Ann McNair
  • Interview
    Five Questions for Helena Rho
    by Ilan Mochari
  • Interview
    Interview with Namrata Poddar, author of Border Less
    by Anjali Mitter Duva
  • Review
    The Queen of Queens by Jennifer Martelli
    by Ilan Mochari
  • Interview
    Six Questions for Jennifer Martelli
    by Barbara Siegel Carlson
  • Interview
    Flying Mid-Air: A Conversation with Jeff Friedman and Meg Pokrass
    by Dzvinia Orlowsky
  • Review
    Between the Hours by Barbara Siegel Carlson
    by Jennifer Martelli
  • Interview
    Transcontinental Pen Pals Make an Album, Having Never Met
    by Richard Hoffman


Contributors

Avatar photoAaron Tillman
Avatar photoAmory Rowe Salem
Avatar photoAnjali Mitter Duva
Avatar photoAshley Memory
Avatar photoBen Schachter
Avatar photoBożena Boba-Dyga
Avatar photoCarol Hobbs
Avatar photoChristian Douglass
avatar for Corvin BuchwaldCorvin Buchwald
Avatar photoDanny Leonard
Avatar photoDiana Tokaji
photo credit Alexis Rhone Fancher Donna Spruijt-Metz
Avatar photoElisha Emerson
Ewa ChruscielEwa Chrusciel
Avatar photoGerard Robledo
Avatar photoIan Lindsay
Avatar photoIlan Mochari
Avatar photoJacques Viau Renaud
Avatar photoJed Myers
Avatar photoJennifer Martelli
Avatar photoJulia McKenzie Munemo
Avatar photoKate Allore
Avatar photoKateryna Devdera
Avatar photoLaura Krughoff
Avatar photoLisa K. Buchanan
Avatar photoLou Jones
Avatar photoLynda Rushing
Avatar photoMary Buchinger
Avatar photoNissa Valdez
Avatar photoPartridge Boswell
Avatar photoPatricia Ann McNair
Avatar photoRasheena Fountain
Avatar photoRayne Weinstein
Avatar photoRichard Cambridge
Richard HoffmanRichard Hoffman
Avatar photoRobert James Russell
Avatar photoSarah Browning
Avatar photoSerhiy Zhadan
Avatar photoSuphil Lee Park
Avatar photoTamako Takamatsu
Avatar photoVirlana Tkacz
Avatar photoWanda Phipps

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