Originally, for this editorial, I was going to simply state that if you want to know my thoughts, read my winter editorial, because, SAME.
In that editorial, I mentioned the attack on the NEA, among other things.
Three months later, organizations are actually starting to feel those effects, as many publishers have announced the loss of grants. I’m frightened to think of where we will be in the authoritarian handbook three more months from now, when we publish the Summer Issue.
To be honest, what is most urgent and concerning to me right now is the kidnapping, the arresting without warrant, the deporting without due process, the sending of humans to super prisons in other countries, à la the Nazi handbook of setting up the camps in Poland. This is disgusting and terrifying. How do we continue living? And where does poetry fit in with this? (read featured poet Derek Mong’s excellent answer to this question in this issue!) Poetry and the business of publishing seem so inconsequential.
This brings me to my point- what I wanted to say besides SAME. The other day, the poetry community lost a great poet, Martha Silano, to ALS. Martha was very prolific in her final years, which I really admire. We had the chance to publish her work a few times, most recently in our Winter Issue.
It did not go unnoticed to me that Martha’s last post on Facebook, a couple days before she passed read, “If I could eat just one sliver of Genoa salami … and maybe a bite of crispy bagel …. I’d give back every poem I’ve ever written.”
Obviously, it’s tongue- in- cheek (or was it?), but it can also act as a message to those of us still on earth. Reading Martha’s post made me think of 3 different things simultaneously:
1- when my step father was dying of cancer in his last few days, he desperately wanted a taste of his favorite foods as well: pizza, a Blizzard from Dairy Queen, but he could only take tiny tastes.
2-in my 20’s I read tons of metaphysical and spiritual books, and some claimed that food ‘on the other side’ just isn’t the same. It’s not as good as here in the physical, temporary world.
and 3-There is that quote, “The gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment may be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed.” (this quote is attributed to Homer, but is an interpretation of Homer taken from the early 2000s movie Troy, starring Brad Pitt. Yes, I was a fan…)
So what do those 3 things mean to me, and what do they have to do with Martha and poetry?
We have to really live, to be in our bodies and make the most of our short time here. This can be really difficult, especially under incredibly stressful and oppressive circumstances. And as a person with all sort of anxiety disorders and teenage boys, it’s something I am actively striving for every day.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how people are able to persist and enjoy life, and my answer is that throughout time, humans do this through creativity and through humor, especially during times of struggle.
I want to urge everyone to get creative, to get funny, to get subversive. Some things along these lines that have been saving me and which I want to share with you are: Cats on a Couch, The Daily Show, Dumb Gay Podcast, the 50501 Movement (and seeing all the hilarious and creative signs at the protests!), any Monty Don gardening videos (want to make an instant difference in the world? Plant some native plants, feed the pollinators, get rid of some lawn).
Also, now more than ever, if you want to start your own journal, or self publish, or start a podcast, just do it! The pressure of waiting to see if you’ll get an NEA Grant or win a coveted prize is off, in my opinion. Those things are even farther and farther away now from accessibility. In the meantime, at this moment we still have access to social media, to YouTube, to website making and to lots of online journals created by volunteers like us and unsupported by the government. Use those things! They are powerful. Don’t wait for permission; life is short.
Write your poems and eat the salami with the bagel! And then go to a protest.
Take care,
Natalie Solmer
Editor In Chief
The Indianapolis Review
Indianapolis, Indiana
May, 2025
