Welcome to our winter.
As we open our second issue, the longest night has ended; the days will be longer from here on, but oh, they are still cold! Curl up with the hot beverage of choice as this issue’s poets take you from the cold December earth to the crystalline chill of deep space, with little resting places of warmth between, and on to the hope of spring.
We were delighted that so many of the submissions that we got, and thanks for the acceptances we sent, had so much enthusiasm for Liminality #1. We knew we had a very strong issue. We hoped it would take off. We are thrilled to find a community forming around the magazine already, and have been so excited to give you all more to read and talk about.
Now come, with your tea or cocoa, with your lights against the darkness. Come and read.
With the indrawn breath of winter,
Shira and Mat
Our mascot for issue #2 is Nicodemus Pontifex!
Shira adopted Nicky one year ago this very week. He was found in a parking lot in Florida, being herded by a bigger dog; both of them were filthy and in rough shape. Nicky was skittish around everyone – until Shira arrived, at which point he launched himself into her lap, declaring quite clearly that she was his chosen human.
Over the past year, Nicky has lost almost all of his skittishness; he has become a pettable dog who gives kisses to visiting friends and plays with everyone. He shines.
Nicky is a poet’s dog; as such, he gets exposed to a lot of poetry! His favorite collections of the year have been Nejma by Nayyirah Waheed, The Haunted Girl by Lisa M. Bradley, and Prelude to Bruise by Saaeed Jones.
(Interested in having your pets as our mascots?)
Mat Joiner’s poems and short stories have appeared in the likes of Strange Horizons, Goblin Fruit, Stone Telling, and Not One Of Us. His poem “And Deeper Than Did Ever Plummet Sound” won the 2014 Dwarf Stars Award. He loves ghosts, Green Men and old books, and thinks “canalpunk” should be a subgenre. He never owned cats, but has a fox running around his head. He lives in Birmingham, England.
Shira Lipkin is a writer, poet, and editor in Boston; in her spare time, she volunteers with the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. Her poetry and short fiction have appeared in Strange Horizons, Stone Telling, Clockwork Phoenix 4, Interfictions 2, and other marvelous places; her poem “The Library, After” won the 2012 Rhysling Award. She attends a lot of burlesque shows, but that’s not where the glitter comes from. Her cat is bigger than her dog.