It is a rare and happy day when an issue of NDQ arrives, and especially so when I am honored to have my own work appear in its pages. I am especially delighted this time, because editor William Caraher said yes to both my lyric, “Something Fishy,” and a prose poem, “Autumn Rain: After Turgenev.” Inspired by Turgenev’s own prose poems, I am still figuring out the parameters and possibilities of the prose poem, and so I am very glad for the validation of my attempt in this form.
North Dakota Quarterly began publishing more than 100 years ago, in 1911, as a vehicle for faculty at the University of North Dakota to publish their scholarly papers. Today, the journal offers a diverse, international mix of essay, fiction, and poetry while remaining strongly rooted in North Dakota history, landscape, and traditions. See, for example, the memoir of the Rev. Dr. Clifford S. Canku, (Sisseton-Whapeton Dakota), an eminent scholar of Dakota language and history, presented in collaboration with his student, John Peacock, (Spirit Lake Dakota), now Professor Emeritus at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore; and the poem, “A Tale of Two Cemeteries,” by UND graduate Bette Nelson.
On the other hand, this issue is rich with the prose and poetry of those from across the U.S. and Canada, and as far away as Sydney, Australia; Liverpool, England; Abuja, Nigeria; Tehran, Iran; and Serbia. Those interested can purchase a paper or digital copy, or a subscription, at the NDQ site.
Here in Northfield, Minnesota, we are bracing for a windy snowstorm coming tomorrow. Today, I shall be taking advantage of the golden sunshine and clear roads to do errands and stock up on groceris. Tomorrow? This issue of NDQ is my passport to armchair travels through the experience and imagination of dozens of others.
Stay warm and happy! LESLIE
