There are many strong poems in the Fall 2009 issue of Poetry Northwest (New Series, Issue 8)—excellent new work by Talvikki Ansel, Christian Wiman, and D.A. Powell—with only one really dreadful clinker (William Logan‘s “Blues,” a cringe-worthy black-face performance). But one poem in particular drew me back and back through its lines: “One Love,” by Kenneth Fields. It so bowled me over that I jumped online and ordered two of his books. And isn’t that the kind of reaction magazines exist to produce?
This issue is the last to be edited by David Biespiel, who ought to be proud of his successful resurrection of Poetry Northwest, which has consistently, under both Biespiel and the previous editor David Wagoner, rejected the poems I’ve submitted. Personally, I ascribe some measure of its success to my absence from its pages!
Joseph Hutchison, Colorado Poet Laureate 2014-2019, has published 20 collections of poems and edited or co-edited three poetry anthologies. He currently directs two master’s-level programs for University College at the University of Denver: Professional Creative Writing and Arts & Culture Management. Joe lives with his wife, Melody Madonna, in the mountains southwest of Denver, Colorado, the city where he was born. 
