From the Editor

When I was compiling the second issue of Star 82 Review: “I asked someone if it was really necessary for me to write a message from the editor. He said, ‘Sure! People need something they can skip.’ Thus deflated, I proceeded.” And I continue to do so, and now we are on our fiftieth issue.

Forty-nine issues of poetry and prose and art and hybrids of words and images, haibun, painted poems and word play of all kinds. Seven years of poems and art are already contained in 2019's Pocket Poems Anthology, so to celebrate this thirteenth year and fiftieth issue we take a look back to fifty pieces of prose plus black and white art from beyond 2019.

Reading through forty-nine issues was illuminating, exciting and overwhelming, and of course it was difficult to pick just fifty.

But it’s summer again, the light reading season, and it seemed fitting to choose stories that are entertaining and thoughtful, particularly when the news shows us an unsteady and daunting world. Not just as a playful vacation, though, but as a continued connection to one another and the emotions that we share.

When presented with various paths the characters can take, I learned from Brian Thorstenson the phrase, “What do you gain? What do you lose?” To kickstart this issue and keep that idea in mind, we start with Peter Cherches’s piece that led issue 11.1, “The Lost and Found.”

So, please step into the time machine with me. I hope you enjoy the view.

Alisa Golden

13.2 Summer Reading Anthology Contents