Issue 2: Winter
Cover art: “Winter Trees” by Joy Massey
Editor’s Note
Welcome to the second issue of Heimat Review, a tapestry of thirty thought-provoking pieces from twenty-five global contributors that weave together the themes of loss, music, identity, and relationships through the lens of art, poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Issue 2 illustrates how music and inter-generational storytelling can be a powerful force that bring people together, shape our sense of self, and even help us to heal.
We begin with the poignant reflection from Wayne Lee, “Each of us is born one loss at a time.” Pieces in the section An Everchanging Landscape sit with and process different losses with a throughline of climate change, seen in pieces such as Cynthia Bernard’s that reflects, “we’re the ones who feed the flames,” and a focus on trees that is so beautifully reflected in Joy Massey’s cover artwork.
Music buoys readers through lines such as Lora Berg’s “Cellists, they’re in conversation about John Cage and how he said, ‘Everything is music.’” Birdsong and light follow this refrain and carry into the section Identity & the Power of a Name. Some pieces fondly remember parents as John Grey does: “His tune has words, and the steady / beat of shoe on concrete,” while others such as Joseph Hutchinson’s presents a more somber memory: “Who wants some teenage boy around / causing trouble? At least I got to keep our name.”
The final section presents informal conversations and interview-style storytelling that remind us of the powerful and often transformative impact of loss, and challenges us to consider the ways in which we can find meaning and connection in the face of the often true statement, “We don’t really know what happened” in Bruce Parker’s poem. In the issue’s concluding poem, Wayne Lee envisions, “There, among the twigs / and leaves, everything is returning to the Earth.”
We hope that this issue of Heimat Review will inspire you to think deeply about these themes, to reflect on your own experiences, and to continue to share your stories.
Hannah Cole Orsag
Editor-in-Chief
We begin with the poignant reflection from Wayne Lee, “Each of us is born one loss at a time.” Pieces in the section An Everchanging Landscape sit with and process different losses with a throughline of climate change, seen in pieces such as Cynthia Bernard’s that reflects, “we’re the ones who feed the flames,” and a focus on trees that is so beautifully reflected in Joy Massey’s cover artwork.
Music buoys readers through lines such as Lora Berg’s “Cellists, they’re in conversation about John Cage and how he said, ‘Everything is music.’” Birdsong and light follow this refrain and carry into the section Identity & the Power of a Name. Some pieces fondly remember parents as John Grey does: “His tune has words, and the steady / beat of shoe on concrete,” while others such as Joseph Hutchinson’s presents a more somber memory: “Who wants some teenage boy around / causing trouble? At least I got to keep our name.”
The final section presents informal conversations and interview-style storytelling that remind us of the powerful and often transformative impact of loss, and challenges us to consider the ways in which we can find meaning and connection in the face of the often true statement, “We don’t really know what happened” in Bruce Parker’s poem. In the issue’s concluding poem, Wayne Lee envisions, “There, among the twigs / and leaves, everything is returning to the Earth.”
We hope that this issue of Heimat Review will inspire you to think deeply about these themes, to reflect on your own experiences, and to continue to share your stories.
Hannah Cole Orsag
Editor-in-Chief
Throughline
Winter Trees by Joy Massey // Cover Art
An Everchanging Landscape
Esme by Wayne Lee // Poetry
Coast Live Oak by Robert Savino Oventile // Poetry
Losing the Fog by Cynthia Bernard // Poetry
The Driveway by Dominique M. Snedeker // Poetry
Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, October, 2016 by Bruce Parker // Poetry
A Love Poem to My Hometown by Petar Penda // Poetry
After Linda Died by Albert N. Katz // Fiction
Coast Live Oak by Robert Savino Oventile // Poetry
Losing the Fog by Cynthia Bernard // Poetry
The Driveway by Dominique M. Snedeker // Poetry
Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, October, 2016 by Bruce Parker // Poetry
A Love Poem to My Hometown by Petar Penda // Poetry
After Linda Died by Albert N. Katz // Fiction
Music: Harmony & Heartache
My First by Kenneth Pobo // Poetry
The Blind Guitarist by Carlo Rey Lacsamana // Creative Nonfiction
Music Camp by Lora Berg // Poetry
The Ugly Squirrel by R. H. Riffenburgh // Fiction
The Blind Guitarist by Carlo Rey Lacsamana // Creative Nonfiction
Music Camp by Lora Berg // Poetry
The Ugly Squirrel by R. H. Riffenburgh // Fiction
A Reprieve of Light & Birdsong
Stardom by Lora Berg // Poetry
Cliff Swallow at Mesa Verde by Joseph Hutchison // Poetry
Bird Love and Science by Lauren Paré // Poetry
kin by Jenevieve Carlyn Hughes // Poetry
Cliff Swallow at Mesa Verde by Joseph Hutchison // Poetry
Bird Love and Science by Lauren Paré // Poetry
kin by Jenevieve Carlyn Hughes // Poetry
Identity & the Power of a Name
Dear Boy by Julius Olofsson // Fiction
Static Metamorphosis by Norie Suzuki // Fiction
Eclipse by Tracy Mayo // Creative Nonfiction
Naming our daughter by Lee Potts // Poetry
Madonna and Child by Jonathan Fletcher // Poetry
In the Same Darkness by Jennifer McMahon // Fiction
Ironing and Woodwork by John Grey // Poetry
The Healing Silence by Joseph Hutchison // Poetry
Static Metamorphosis by Norie Suzuki // Fiction
Eclipse by Tracy Mayo // Creative Nonfiction
Naming our daughter by Lee Potts // Poetry
Madonna and Child by Jonathan Fletcher // Poetry
In the Same Darkness by Jennifer McMahon // Fiction
Ironing and Woodwork by John Grey // Poetry
The Healing Silence by Joseph Hutchison // Poetry
Asking Questions, Sharing Stories
The House by Leslie Lindsay // Creative Nonfiction
What the Couch Would Say by Dominique M. Snedeker // Poetry
Salmon Ruins, Abandoned after 1263 by Bruce Parker // Poetry
Donations by Margaret D. Stetz // Poetry
No Sharp Edges by Candice Kelsey // Poetry
Patina by Wayne Lee // Poetry
What the Couch Would Say by Dominique M. Snedeker // Poetry
Salmon Ruins, Abandoned after 1263 by Bruce Parker // Poetry
Donations by Margaret D. Stetz // Poetry
No Sharp Edges by Candice Kelsey // Poetry
Patina by Wayne Lee // Poetry