Letter from the Editor

Things start out as hopes and end up as habits. 
– Lillian Hellman (1905-1984), playwright, screenwriter, and memoirist

When I was a kid one of the best things about summer was the reading challenge at the public library. Other than the year that the winners received Cubs tickets, I don’t remember any of the prizes. What I do remember is the joy at being able to read as much as I wanted without being told I should go play outside. That summer, I must have been in first or second grade, I read 48 books. I don’t know what the requirement was, but I read and read and read until the very last moment.

Over the past year I listened to books while walking and cooking, and I read a number of poetry collections. In the last few weeks I settled into the kind of summer reading that makes you feel sad when you leave your book in the morning to go to work. I recently read Selma Blair’s Mean Baby, and then I turned around and listened to the audio book. I quickly followed it with Miracle Country by Kendra Atleework. Now, only 46 more books to go before fall gets here!

Our summer issue is filled with the kinds of stories that make you want to stay in and stay up late until you can’t read anymore. I am looking forward to reading the issue from start to finish this evening. Even though I have read them many times by now, once they are published they are new to me again. Being able to encounter the work as a reader is magical every time. 

While I agree with Lillian Hellman that what we do as an act of hope becomes a habit, it’s also true that the habit of reading gives us hope and respite. The editors have put together a beautiful summer issue, and in Zest Eric Steineger has a Q & A with former poetry contributor Rogan Kelly. We’ve also just received word that respected literary journal Wigleaf has recognized four Citron pieces from 2021 in their annual anthology. Congratulations to Juno Elio Avillez do Nascimento, Abbie Barker, Myna Chang and Aditi Ramaswamy for making the longlist. We’re also so proud to see several Citron contributors on the Wigleaf Top 50 as well as the longlist. Congrats to all and thanks Wigleaf.

Thank you to all of the contributing writers for sending us your work.

May hope shine on you and your loved ones this summer solstice.

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 Charlotte Hamrick

Flash Fiction

Notes on the selections by Elizabeth De Arcos

Micros

Notes on the selections by JR Walsh

Zest

This issue features an interview with a poetry contributor.