A Note from In Posse's Guest Editor

Susan Rich

Introducing the Seattle Slew

When Ilya Kaminsky invited me to serve as a guest editor for In Posse Review, I hesitated only a moment before realizing that this was my chance to highlight the poetic renaissance happening in my adopted hometown of Seattle, WA.

Although Elizabeth Bishop, Richard Hugo, and Theodore Roethke all lived and worked here at some point during their careers, Seattle still operates in the literary wilderness. And perhaps, this is a positive aspect of life here. Our lack of a spotlight may be the reason why a wildly diverse range of poetic styles can thrive and even inter-mix.

I've named this Seattle anthology for the Seattle Slew, a famous Seattle icon. Seattle Slew is the undefeated triple crown winner of horse racing's most important competitions, including the Kentucky Derby. This horse, born of My Charmer and Bold Reasoning, was never the most beautiful or most graceful stallion, but Seattle Slew's indefinable magic resonated with all who knew him.

"From a horse written off by many to a horse that would re-write history books, Seattle Slew became a thoroughbred racing legend." May you enjoy these poems of convents and clouds, exploding moons and rogue magicians. Most of all, may these poems introduce you to the work of ten talented poets, any one of whom may be the literary rider of that awesome horse.

Susan Rich
Guest Poetry Editor

Susan Rich is the author of Cures Include Travel and The Cartographer's Tongue: Poems of the World. She lives and writes in Seattle, WA. You can visit Susan online at www.susanrich.net/

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