Welcome to the January 2017 edition of our Blue Heron Speaks monthly feature. At least twice a year, I save space to share work by a poetic voice from the past. It seems only fitting to launch 2017 with the spare, yet evocative, words of one of my favorite modernist poets, William Carlos Williams (1883–1963). This month we celebrate the flower-like swirl of the ocean, the beauty of a broken green bottle, the solitude of snow falling, and the famous, red wheel barrow of Williams.

Visit the Blue Heron Speaks Featured Author page of our site to read sample poems by William Carlos Williams, and to learn more about his literary legacy.

(photo credit: The Poetry Foundation.org)

January is a time of new beginnings, but as much as we like to think that we are meant to zoom forward, returning to the self and turning inward is often just what winter asks of us. If you have poems from past years, left dormant in a drawer or a forgotten computer file, perhaps now is the time to dust off those lines and polish those once bright images.

Don’t forget that the next open call for submissions for Blue Heron Review will be from March 20th through April 20th, 2017. Send us your hidden gems, your heart’s flutterings ~ your pearls of reflection. Looking forward to reading your latest work, for possible inclusion in the summer 2017 issue of BHR!

With kindest wishes for new beginnings,
Cristina M. R. Norcross, Founding Editor
Blue Heron Review