LEETSO DOODA by Rachelle Wilson

We are thrilled to announce the First Indigenous Poetry Prize, judged by poet m.s. RedCherries, 2024 National Book Award Finalist and Author of “mother”

Winner:

Megan Dorame for her poem what blood is the salinity of saltwater?

Finalists:

Jalen R. Lee for his poem uncle in the gleam

Kirbie Bennett for his poem LOOK AT THE WAY THE MOUNTAINS HOLD THE SKY & THE SUN KISSES THE FACE OF THE EARTH & THINK ABOUT WHAT IS BURIED IN A LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Honorable Mentions:

Hannah Henry for her poem Ikhaiyana

Malia Maxwell for her poem ‘Ula

Editor’s Note Winter 2025 Issue:

by Claire Wilcox

We are entering a new era, and I can’t help but think it will be a dark one. My whole life, I’ve believed that we were generally on an upward trajectory. I believed that, despite the ups and downs, we were steadily making progress toward reversing the damage wrought by colonization and creating a better world, at least when it came to social justice, inclusion, LGBTQIA rights, women’s rights, and diversity. Also, even though the political machine was stalled, I continued to hold on to a sliver of hope that soon, we were going to turn our attention back to our natural world and figure out how to curb, if not stop, the devastating effects of climate change—maybe even begin to worship nature again…

Read entire note here.