Editor Note

Editor’s Note

By Molly Hill

Editor’s Note
December 2020
Issue 20

Work while you have the light. You are responsible for the talent entrusted to you.
Henri Frederic Amiel

Dear Writers and Readers,

Welcoming you to our 20^th issue is only partially accurate. While we publish four full numbered issues (March, June, September, December) every year, we also sneak in two poetry-only shorter issues in January and July. Still it seems significant in some way that our 20^th issue pops up online at the end of 2020. A quick dive into numerology reveals that the number twenty is powerful and related to the characteristic of unlimited potential. While it’s difficult to explain a lot of things we’ve experienced as a whole in 2020, we do recognize potential and are always impressed with the singularity, power, and originality of the writing voices, and the creative artistic skill in the submissions we receive.

This is our largest issue to date, the most submissions we’ve received, and the largest volume of work we have published online. We’re grateful to all the student writers who submitted work, because while it was a pleasure to select the work for this issue, we also regret having to say no to a lot of good work due to the large volume of submissions.

As with every issue there’s something for every reader. A quick flight to space? Per Aspera Ad Astra, by Freddie Coffey. A poem with an unusual theme? Try— Break-up Letter to Eczema from Evy Shen. Unexpected funeral behavior? — check out Lou Goes to Vermont (Ida Mobini), and Samantha Liu’s Funeral Day.

Don’t miss the strong voices in our non-fiction section—Why Africans Don’t Talk about Race but Blacks Do, from Nigerian writer Idowu Odeyemi, and Natalie Parker’s take on the issues ‘inclusive’ media have with queer women, in Erasure and Fetishization. Our non-fiction essayists also take on travel abroad, loss and lies, what’s in a name, and Sweet Misgivings (Brianne O’ Gorman).

Enjoy the writing, admire the art, and keep sharing your creative work with the world.

Molly Hill
Editor

Editor’s Note

By Molly Hill

September 2020
Editor’s Note:

Dear Readers and Writers,

A bit of an update and a review:

We’ve been an online literary journal for five years! And we’re celebrating with our first in-print anthology, due out in January of 2021. It was a challenge to distill so many great submissions into our first book, and the narrowing down process was difficult. We’re hoping this will be the first of many, and will provide details for ordering and availability when the time comes.

In the meantime, we’re proud to present our Fall/September 2020 issue, and we welcome back our returning editors as well as some new ones, who will help us review submissions throughout the school year. We have a rotating group of editors and sometimes have openings. If you have an interest in helping us read and review submissions, send an email to editorbluemarblereview@gmail.com, and we’ll discuss.

We continue to accept submissions on our website: www.bluemarblereview.com and welcome creative work that fits our guidelines:

Poetry: Any and all forms, max of 3 per submission

Non-fiction: This includes, book reviews, personal essays, and travel stories all with a max of 1500 words. We do publish the occasional school research paper as well.

Fiction: Short stories, or flash, experimental, hybrid—1500 words max, not more than 3 of these per submission.

ART: Send us a jpeg—4 pieces max

We try to respond in 4-6 weeks to all submissions, meaning this is our goal…. sometimes we’re much speedier, and others slower, but we do try to keep our writers informed. You can always email to check on how we’re doing with the queue.

We’re here for questions, and we’re as always grateful for the grant givers, the cheerleaders, and our student writers who keep us hopeful and optimistic during this time of Covid uncertainty. Thank you all, and enjoy the issue!

Molly Hill
Editor

Editor Note

By Molly Hill

Summer Poems/ July 2020

Dear Readers and Writers,

Thank goodness for summer, because how would/will we bear quarantine in February?

There’s a saying that goes something like — what you put your attention and focus on— will grow, which is downright cheerful when it applies to something good, but we seem to be awash in challenging, attention-demanding issues that can make day to day coping difficult.

We’d like to offer our 2020 Summer Poetry Issue as a form of annotation to your daily life.

While this collection of short poems certainly can’t explain what’s happening in our world, these student writers look at the world with a keen sense of observation and astute reflection, and we’re honored to share their work as both antidote and accompaniment to 2020 summer survival.

While these poems are short enough to be read on your phone during a zoom call, or while standing on that large disk six feet away from the next person in the coffee line, they’re long on inspiration, creativity and escapism.

Thanks for reading, and stay motivated*

Molly Hill
Editor

*Image of ART on plywood, created in Uptown, Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd.

Editor’s Note

By Molly Hill

June 2020/Issue 18

Dear Readers and Writers:

Working with student writers provides a front row seat to watching creativity unfold. It’s a chance to be a witness to challenging and growth filled personal stories, stunning art and photography, as well as the development of imaginative fiction and poetry. But the best part is that student writing has always been about dreaming too, and it’s such a privilege to have this small window to watch student writers make their way in the world,— figuring things out as they go, guided by that inner light as well as by family, friends, teachers and other mentors in the communities where they live.

The dreams are key because they help plot the way forward, keeping hope steady as obstacles are navigated, and motivating students— (well, all of us)—to continue looking ahead.

After our last issue went online in March, Covid19 made the world stop. For a while there was no more planning ahead, only adjusting to an indefinite limbo of uncertainty. Then here in our home city of Minneapolis, things got worse. Much has been written about the tragic death of George Floyd and the city-then-state then-worldwide reaction to long time societal structures enabling inequality and injustice to continue through generations. We’re reading and learning and doing along with everyone else, hoping to be part of something positive in the days and months ahead. We remain hopeful that as our city is rebuilt, a commitment to change grows along with it.

And here at our journal we remain committed as we’ve been since the beginning five years ago, — to amplify ALL voices, and showcase student work from all over the world. We’re grateful as always to our student contributors who have always been our teachers—may your dreams never be deferred.

Molly Hill

Harlem
By Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
Like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
Like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Editor’s Note/Winter Poems 2020

By Molly Hill

Readers and Writers:

In order to bring a little heat into the heart of a cold winter, we present this month’s cover image, a photo taken in the middle of the Mojave Desert. The Joshua tree, depending on whom you ask is thought to represent strength, supplication, and the ability to thrive in difficult conditions. While we hope you’re thriving this winter, we’re providing a poetic oasis of sorts to get you through the days when the sun seems to set way too early. This is our fourth annual winter poetry issue—and we’re honored to present the work of these young writers.

Enjoy the issue!

Molly Hill
Editor

Editor/s Note

By Molly Hill

December 2019

Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks. —Samuel Johnson

Dear Readers and Writers:

Just as we were putting the final touches on this issue before it goes live on our site, we received a surprise donation of sufficient funding to cover the costs for our entire December issue, —talk about a bright blaze of gladness. Our deepest heartfelt thanks to our anonymous donor who supports our mission by providing this unexpected financial spark!

And speaking of sparks, if you go to the web site: earthobservatory.nasa.gov you’ll find what are called light maps, satellite images of areas of human habitation around the globe. Per NASA, these images of the earth at night are often called “night lights,” glimmers of light in the blue marble night sky.

We see evidence of these light maps in our submission inbox every single day. Young writers are taking pictures, making art, and ready to share poems, stories, and opinions with us. This issue features points of light from Nigeria, Belgium, Singapore, Canada, and Turkey, as well as work from our many writers here in the U.S. Read on to discover unexpected sparks.

Molly Hill
Editor