Dear Readers,
Though this is our Summer 2019 issue of Rougarou, we’ve found the work within to be reflective of the changing season.
As we move into Fall and (hopefully for Louisiana) cooler weather, we experience poems, fiction, and nonfiction that turn inward and address the familial, the domestic, and the potential for these topics to haunt us.
In these pieces, you’ll find comforting memories of mothers that contrast sharply with the image of parents who break “their bones to set mine” and the desire to live up to parental expectations while simultaneously imagining a father’s “rigid chest” cracking, his blood pooling.
You will also meet a “metallic and icy” Jesus on the world’s biggest crucifix, and a woman who wants to be believed. The volatile relationship between parent, child, and other parents plays out in schoolyard warfare where children are caught in the middle.
Relish in the last throes of summer with our latest issue and stay tuned for exciting news about our upcoming poetry contest. Our judge will be CAConrad, author of nine books of poetry and a 2019 Creative Capital Fellow. Learn more about CAConrad here.
Enjoy,
Ali Ünal & Patti Jeane Pangborn
Co Editors-in-Chief
