Welcome to The Indianapolis Review! This issue is being assembled amid the polar vortex and a heap of personal and professional changes–all for the good, except the polar vortex part. My feet are freezing and I have on 2 layers of socks!
I am typing this, cold feet and all, from the inside of my new bedroom that I have filled with plants. Gardening and writing were my two first loves, and I finally feel like I can have plants in the apartment now that my kids are older. When they were toddlers, they destroyed everything in their path.
Now, every time I walk by those plants, it makes me happy, much like reading the poems in this issue, and looking at the amazing art. It feels surreal that this is the 7th issue of Indianapolis Review, and it just keeps getting better. This month we have special features from the poet Emily Corwin (who contributed an interview and 3 new poems!) and the artist and writer, Kelcey Parker Ervick (who contributed an extensive portfolio, as well as an interview interspersed with art!)
In my last welcome note, in the fall, I mentioned how busy I was with adjuncting at 4 different colleges. I am very happy to report that I now have a full time teaching job at one of those institutions! This is completely life changing and wonderful, and I’m still processing it, as well as questioning what can I do to help improve the adjunct situation for all.
One of the big bonuses of my new position is that I get to work more closely with one of my friends, the professor and writer, Ashley Mack-Jackson, who I asked to join our staff last fall. We’re so excited to have Ashley on board, and she’s already proven to be indispensible in the webpage design department. To all the other editors out there using WordPress, I feel your pain. WordPress just completely changed their way of assembing webpages. However, though scary at first (like most all change for me), it’s turning out to be pretty great!
Despite the technical frustrations, we’ve really enjoyed spending time with all of this rich poetry and art, and we hope that you will too!
Natalie Solmer
Indianapolis, 1-31-2019