January 2014

Editor's Note

A Letter from Anna Meister, Poetry Editor

These days, the literary world is saturated with magazines/journals/small presses like never before (this is what we call a “good problem”). With so many spaces looking to publish creative work, I’m proud to have been a part of the editorial team at The Well&Often Reader. This streamlined & thoughtful publication is a gem in the vast sea of lit mags, valuing education & empowerment while featuring writing that is breathtaking, urgent, & daring.

At Well&Often, we believe poetry is a necessity & should be accessible to all. As Kevin Young said in his essay on Deadism, poetry is “not ceremony, but the daily thing. The dirt. It is an everyday, not an occasionally.” The Well&Often Reader knows the importance of art-education & works to make poetry an everyday by bringing it to the classroom. Our unique lesson plans (designed by editor Caits Meissner) focus on the exciting poetic voices we publish, helping teachers to integrate poetry into their curriculums through prompts & discussion topics.

As poetry editor, I’m honored to have had the chance to feature both emerging & established talents, work full of heat & heart. The Reader has always been interactive, honest, & aesthetically beautiful, valuing good design second only to great content. It’s been a joy to build these issues with such phenomenal writers/art-makers as my fellow editors. Thank you, Tishon & Caits, for the opportunity to work on such a rich & important project as this.

We’ve done some really special stuff here & I’ll miss it greatly.

– Anna Meister

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