Issue 6: Still Learning
Cover art: “Pen and Ink” by Helen Gwyn Jones
Editor’s Letter
Dear readers,
Welcome to Issue 6 of Heimat Review!
As a high school English teacher, one of my favorite lessons is centered on this term called public pedagogy. It’s based on the idea that we learn from outside influences just as much, or more, as from traditional in-classroom schooling. The classroom is necessary, setting boundaries and foundations. But, education outside of school is so important because this is where we put our learning into practice, figuring out how to be good stewards of our work, good citizens, and neighbors. We learn what is, and then we come back together in classrooms to look at what was and the hope of what will be.
In this issue, guided by the theme of education, we celebrate the notion that we are all still learning, recognizing that each of us is continually evolving and broadening our perspectives. Join us as we embark on road trips, delve into reflections on identity and the past, and explore the intricate interplay between hope and reality, within these pieces where the spirit of learning and expansion resonates throughout every word and image.
As you journey through these pages, you’ll find yourself immersed in worlds both fantastical and familiar. Whether you’re drawn to the haunting beauty of the first two sections, Building Bridges and Beyond the Broken Sky, the poignant reflections of the pieces within Reconstruction, or the quiet wisdom of Very Much Alive, each piece and section of this issue offers a glimpse into the heart of the human condition.
Rose Facchini muses, “To hope is surely an act of chance, a game / of fine balancing acts.” And we do, hope, that is. Educators of all kinds, as in the section School Days: A Tapestry of Voices, hope students will see that “Nothing is ever only bad,” as Brandon Shane does. And of course, as the pieces in the sections, Mom Left Me in Charge & ...And I Can’t Let Her Down, discuss, we all want to grow and live well; we yearn for closure and for peace.
Too often, we see the reality that Jennifer McMahon’s “Wearing Grey” asserts, “The lifeline that was thrown...might be a snake.” There are always positives and negatives, weeds we have to walk through to find the garden. We find ourselves thinking, as Martha S. Mitchell does: “We have only the brief span of our own lifetimes to know anything...” where we seek to learn much and finally tell others, as in Eileen Lynch’s “Maestra,” “Let me show you what else is new.”
As you immerse yourself in the stories, photographs, and artwork contained herein, consider the lessons they impart, the insights they offer, and the questions they inspire. Let us show you what else is new and what we’ve learned along the way.
Welcome to Issue 6.
Hannah Cole Orsag
Editor-in-Chief
Welcome to Issue 6 of Heimat Review!
As a high school English teacher, one of my favorite lessons is centered on this term called public pedagogy. It’s based on the idea that we learn from outside influences just as much, or more, as from traditional in-classroom schooling. The classroom is necessary, setting boundaries and foundations. But, education outside of school is so important because this is where we put our learning into practice, figuring out how to be good stewards of our work, good citizens, and neighbors. We learn what is, and then we come back together in classrooms to look at what was and the hope of what will be.
In this issue, guided by the theme of education, we celebrate the notion that we are all still learning, recognizing that each of us is continually evolving and broadening our perspectives. Join us as we embark on road trips, delve into reflections on identity and the past, and explore the intricate interplay between hope and reality, within these pieces where the spirit of learning and expansion resonates throughout every word and image.
As you journey through these pages, you’ll find yourself immersed in worlds both fantastical and familiar. Whether you’re drawn to the haunting beauty of the first two sections, Building Bridges and Beyond the Broken Sky, the poignant reflections of the pieces within Reconstruction, or the quiet wisdom of Very Much Alive, each piece and section of this issue offers a glimpse into the heart of the human condition.
Rose Facchini muses, “To hope is surely an act of chance, a game / of fine balancing acts.” And we do, hope, that is. Educators of all kinds, as in the section School Days: A Tapestry of Voices, hope students will see that “Nothing is ever only bad,” as Brandon Shane does. And of course, as the pieces in the sections, Mom Left Me in Charge & ...And I Can’t Let Her Down, discuss, we all want to grow and live well; we yearn for closure and for peace.
Too often, we see the reality that Jennifer McMahon’s “Wearing Grey” asserts, “The lifeline that was thrown...might be a snake.” There are always positives and negatives, weeds we have to walk through to find the garden. We find ourselves thinking, as Martha S. Mitchell does: “We have only the brief span of our own lifetimes to know anything...” where we seek to learn much and finally tell others, as in Eileen Lynch’s “Maestra,” “Let me show you what else is new.”
As you immerse yourself in the stories, photographs, and artwork contained herein, consider the lessons they impart, the insights they offer, and the questions they inspire. Let us show you what else is new and what we’ve learned along the way.
Welcome to Issue 6.
Hannah Cole Orsag
Editor-in-Chief
Discover the stories behind the stories!Dive deeper into the creation of each piece with our Artist’s/Author’s Notes, located at the end of each work, where the creators share insights into their favorite lines and reflections on this issue’s theme of education and learning. |
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Building Bridges
Pen and Ink by Helen Gwyn Jones // Visual Art
Her Evening is Announced in Red by JC Alfier // Visual Art
The Reticence of Blue by JC Alfier // Visual Art
coming back to the small talk by KG Ricci // Visual Art
Her Evening is Announced in Red by JC Alfier // Visual Art
The Reticence of Blue by JC Alfier // Visual Art
coming back to the small talk by KG Ricci // Visual Art
Beyond the Broken Sky
What You Learn on the Bus by Angela Townsend // Fiction
The Stump in Valley Falls by Nicole Marie Curtis // Fiction
A Collection of Sunken Objects by Ashley Farrelly // Fiction
Manifesto by Rose Facchini // Poetry
The Stump in Valley Falls by Nicole Marie Curtis // Fiction
A Collection of Sunken Objects by Ashley Farrelly // Fiction
Manifesto by Rose Facchini // Poetry
Mom Left Me in Charge...
Colouring a Jaguar by Andrea Ferrari Kristeller // Poetry
Conversation in the Weeds by Jordyn Perazzo // Poetry
What to Do for Feet That Have Traversed At Least 1,202 Miles by Cyan James // CNF
Wearing Grey by Jennifer McMahon // Fiction
Conversation in the Weeds by Jordyn Perazzo // Poetry
What to Do for Feet That Have Traversed At Least 1,202 Miles by Cyan James // CNF
Wearing Grey by Jennifer McMahon // Fiction
...And I Can't Let Her Down
Nothing by Rose Facchini // Poetry
Saturn’s Return by DW Baker // Poetry
Overlooking Honey Lake from the Diamond Range by Martha S. Mitchell // CNF
Garbage by Patty Somlo // CNF
Saturn’s Return by DW Baker // Poetry
Overlooking Honey Lake from the Diamond Range by Martha S. Mitchell // CNF
Garbage by Patty Somlo // CNF
School Days: A Tapestry of Voices
Off My Game by John Grey // Poetry
Educational Drama by James B. Nicola // Poetry
Yoga for the Apathy of Rocks by Britt Kaufmann // Poetry
Highschool, Teacher by Brandon Shane // Poetry
Just Another by Brandon Shane // Poetry
Maestra by Eileen Lynch // Fiction
Educational Drama by James B. Nicola // Poetry
Yoga for the Apathy of Rocks by Britt Kaufmann // Poetry
Highschool, Teacher by Brandon Shane // Poetry
Just Another by Brandon Shane // Poetry
Maestra by Eileen Lynch // Fiction
Reconstruction
Unhandy by Bruno Rescigna // Poetry
DIY Derek by Chris Cottom // Fiction
The King of Grief by Jen Colclough // Poetry
Before She Turns 10, a Girl with Attention Deficit Receives 20,000 More Negative Messages Than Her Peers by Terena Elizabeth Bell // Poetry
The School Board Calls for Reductions by James B. Nicola // Poetry
500 Words by Beth Sherman // Fiction
DIY Derek by Chris Cottom // Fiction
The King of Grief by Jen Colclough // Poetry
Before She Turns 10, a Girl with Attention Deficit Receives 20,000 More Negative Messages Than Her Peers by Terena Elizabeth Bell // Poetry
The School Board Calls for Reductions by James B. Nicola // Poetry
500 Words by Beth Sherman // Fiction
Very Much Alive
What garden do your stories grow? by DW Baker // Poetry
Sampler by Lora Berg // Poetry
Grief Puzzle by Wendy Barry // Poetry
Swimming Lessons by Karen McPherson // Poetry
Imbolc, 2024 by Joanna Grant // Poetry
The Hanging Man by Joanna Grant // Poetry
Sampler by Lora Berg // Poetry
Grief Puzzle by Wendy Barry // Poetry
Swimming Lessons by Karen McPherson // Poetry
Imbolc, 2024 by Joanna Grant // Poetry
The Hanging Man by Joanna Grant // Poetry