I am so happy to share the news that one of my favorite publications, The Orchards Poetry Journal, has just published its third issue, and it includes three of my own poems: “The Widow Dreams of Sweet Breezes;” a sonnet, “Transportation;” and a villanelle, “To a Former Friend Whose Affections Are Withdrawn.”

Making this publication even more of a pleasure to me is that my friend, Sally Nacker, also has two lovely poems in this issue: “Robins” and “Night Snow.” (And our contributor notes are next to each other.) Regular readers will recall posts on Sally’s collection of poems, Vireo, and on her scholarship on the work of Amy Lowell.

I took the images here on recent trips to one of my favorite museums. These apple blossoms, offering up the most delicate and slightly spicy fragrance, were photographed in the courtyard of the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis. They seemed to me an appropriate complement to the spirit of The Orchards.

You can enjoy this new issue of The Orchards online now,  including not only an interesting group of poems but an interview with their first featured poet, Siham Karami. And you can also look at the first two issues of this fine publication. After all, what is more delightful than a lovely day in June, unless it is a fine June day with the music of a new poem!

Happy Reading!       Leslie