Letter from the Editor

Even this late it happens:
the coming of love, the coming of light.
– Mark Strand, “The Coming of Light”
 

IMAGE CREDIT: Nathan R. Elliott. St. Catherine Noël. 2019.

Tonight we celebrate Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. On this dark evening we reflect on the year that is closing and the one that is coming near. In this bustling season it sometimes feels as though there is no safe place to express loss or doubt. Mark Strand’s tender words invite us to believe that it is never too late for love or the return of the light. As this day slows and we finally find ourselves in bed, the natural world goes on and “even this late the bones of the body shine and tomorrow’s dust flares into breath.” We are grateful that you have taken this time in your busy life to find a moment of stillness to join us in reading the work of our winter writers.

Tonight we also think back on our year at Citron. In September, we kicked off our 10th anniversary by publishing Citron 10: Fall 2019 and our anthology, Citron 10: Celebrating 10 Years of the Short Form.  For the past year we poured over a decade of work by writers who touched our lives with their words. We also nominated some of our favorite work from our tenth year for Best of the Net, Best Microfiction, and The Pushcart Prize. Last summer we created Zest, and in 2020 you can expect book reviews and more by our editors. Thank you for spending another year with us celebrating the short form and its writers.

On behalf of The Citron Review, may this season bring light and love to you and yours, and a happy new year.

Warmest wishes,
Angela M. Brommel
Editor-in-Chief
Poetry Editor
The Citron Review

Masthead

Table of Contents

Poetry

Notes on the selections by Eric Steineger

Creative Nonfiction

Notes on the selections by Nathan R. Elliott

Fiction

Notes on the selections by Elizabeth De Arcos

Flash Fiction

Micro Fiction

2019 Pushcart Nominations

2019 Best Microfiction Nominations

2019 Best of the Net Nominations