May 2020
EDITOR'S NOTE
Dear Villagers,
April was a month of great loss. Lost work, lost income, lost life, lost time. And yet it was also a month of great gain. More people opened their hearts to kindness, forgiveness, and selfless service. Many gained an appreciation for what they still have, and for what is of greatest importance to them. We gained a better understanding of how global economies and health concerns and manufacturing affect everything we do. And how failure to prepare is truly to prepare to fail.
So here we are, taking the wrapping paper off the gift of another month. There is much uncertainty about what this month will bring. Some are suggesting that it is time to begin opening businesses back up, while others are being extremely cautious about opening up too soon, and suffering a second wave of COVID-19 infections, possibly more deadly than the first wave has been. We simply don't know, because we haven't done this in our lifetime. But in all of the unknown, one thing is constant, and that is the drive to write, to paint, to sculpt, to create in whatever form we can. Creating is the ultimate act of defiance.
Every issue of Verse-Virtual seems like it's the best one yet, and the May issue is no exception. I have been overwhelmed by the quality of the poems that were submitted. I get to read them several times before they are published, which is my guilty pleasure. Tom Montag, our guest editor for May, did the difficult work of deciding what not to include, and I offer him my sincere thanks for his time and effort in selecting this month's Verse-Virtual, another remarkable collection of poetry.
Submissions are open from May 1 to May 10 for the June issue. I do want to emphasize how important it is to FOLLOW THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. They have been edited to be less verbose, and hopefully easier to understand. Submissions that don't follow the guidelines will neither be read nor replied to, even if you are one of my favorite poets. Don't break my heart.
April was a month of great loss. Lost work, lost income, lost life, lost time. And yet it was also a month of great gain. More people opened their hearts to kindness, forgiveness, and selfless service. Many gained an appreciation for what they still have, and for what is of greatest importance to them. We gained a better understanding of how global economies and health concerns and manufacturing affect everything we do. And how failure to prepare is truly to prepare to fail.
So here we are, taking the wrapping paper off the gift of another month. There is much uncertainty about what this month will bring. Some are suggesting that it is time to begin opening businesses back up, while others are being extremely cautious about opening up too soon, and suffering a second wave of COVID-19 infections, possibly more deadly than the first wave has been. We simply don't know, because we haven't done this in our lifetime. But in all of the unknown, one thing is constant, and that is the drive to write, to paint, to sculpt, to create in whatever form we can. Creating is the ultimate act of defiance.
Every issue of Verse-Virtual seems like it's the best one yet, and the May issue is no exception. I have been overwhelmed by the quality of the poems that were submitted. I get to read them several times before they are published, which is my guilty pleasure. Tom Montag, our guest editor for May, did the difficult work of deciding what not to include, and I offer him my sincere thanks for his time and effort in selecting this month's Verse-Virtual, another remarkable collection of poetry.
Submissions are open from May 1 to May 10 for the June issue. I do want to emphasize how important it is to FOLLOW THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. They have been edited to be less verbose, and hopefully easier to understand. Submissions that don't follow the guidelines will neither be read nor replied to, even if you are one of my favorite poets. Don't break my heart.