Yellow Arrow Publishing Blog

Kapua Iao 11/25/25 Kapua Iao 11/25/25

Looking Through the Snapshots of Life: Reflecting on KAIROS

Contributors to KAIROS (Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. X, No. 2) were asked if they create through routine, or if they wait for their own kairos moment to find inspiration. Kairos is a Greek word that means “a time when conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action”; “an opportune and decisive moment”; in modern Greek, also “weather” or “time”; and in ancient Greek, “the right or critical moment.” After cover reveal, we asked Yellow Arrow the community to contemplate the question for themselves. Here are the contributors’ responses. Please feel free to add your own response in the comments. We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Stephanie Anderson, “half-bath”

“I’ve tried to have a routine. I would love to have a routine. Creatively, I don’t think I can be anything consistently but restless. A few years ago, my regular writing regimen included keeping myself awake irresponsibly late; now I find my best work falls out of me in the 15 minutes before I am due to leave for somewhere. Everything I write ends up as part of a continual unwinding of my life and that’s an ongoing stew masquerading as inspiration. Sometimes I have no choice but to write something immediately, but more often than not, it needs to simmer.”

Aileen Bassis, “On Seeing Jack Whitten’s Painting, 9.11.01”

“I don’t have a writing routine. I write when something moves me—it can be something I see, a phrase, a metaphor, or a feeling.”

Deepti Bhatia, “Still Here, Still Breathing”

“There are days when I keep staring at the blank paper for hours; those are the moments of creative void and guilt. There also are times when my calm surfaces breach the normed boundaries, usually when I have feelings of retaliation, appreciation, or gratitude. During such times, triggered by the desire of conveyance, I write. So yes, my writings are attributed to certain special moments, when I let my feelings breathe in the open.”

Loretta Cantieri, “The Second Abortion”

“I type daily pages but sometimes I do miss a date. If I am not generating new material, I revise poems. If inspiration comes and I am not in a position to write at that moment I will take notes on paper or on my phone. Inspiration is an elusive critter, sort of like a lynx. It is wonderful if you have a sighting, but you may hike many days without seeing it.”

Roxanne Christiana, “COLONIZING MARS”

“I create through routine: I start my writing sessions at 4:00 a.m. and continue to about 10:00 a.m. During that session I hope to get inspiration, which I usually do. Not always, though, in which case I’ll write down my stream of consciousness and see if an idea emerges.”

Virginia Ottley Craighill, “Last Poem for My Father”

“I have never been good at routine. I might be disciplined for a short time, but that discipline is usually disrupted by some unforeseen event that sends me in another direction. I’ve found that my kairos moment occurs when I am alone, or particularly when I’m out walking. In some ways, walking is a routine that frees the mind to become aware of patterns that break through the finite veil.”

Patricia Davis-Muffett, “Miscarriage, November 6, 2024”

“I do my best to show up for my muse regularly, often in the morning, and try to give myself a little space and a push to write. Twice, I have done a 30/30 challenge, where I created and posted a new poem draft every day for 30 days. That experience taught me that I might be surprised at what is waiting if I stop and listen for a short period every day. My regular routine rarely gives me that kind of space every single day, but I do my best to give it space at least a few times a week.”

Amy Devine, “A poet died today”

“I try to make a habit of creation, scheduling time to write or edit or read poetry on a regular basis. By doing this I give myself permission to take my art seriously, and I create space for inspiration to strike. That said, there is nothing like going about your day-to-day and suddenly witnessing or reading something that has you desperately scrambling to write. I think that you need both the discipline and the inspiration to sustain creative work.”

Johanna Elattar, “Under the Siren: Alexandria, 1973”

“I create through a combination of routine and kairos moments. I rely on consistent writing practices to develop ideas, but often inspiration strikes in unexpected, opportune moments that guide the direction of my work.”

Renee Emerson, “Closures”

“I keep a set writing routine so that when the muse does come looking, she knows where to find me.”

Clara Garza, “The Awakening Aperture”

“Although creation is one of the most important aspects of my life, I rely on patience and my own kairos to find inspiration. I understand that art cannot always be forced. Routine is consistent and reliable, but it is the decisive moment of vision that gives my work authenticity and meaning. In that sense, I create by honoring the moments when inspiration reveals itself.”

Pratibha Kumari Gupta, “At the Community Garden, We Talk of Root Systems”

“I write through a modest routine of reading, reflection, and revision that keeps me close to language. Inspiration often arrives in moments of kairos—unexpected yet timely encounters that transform the routine into finished work. So my practice depends on both: steady rhythm and sudden revelation.”

Taylor Harrison, “Fatherland”

“Even though I am very much a creature of habit, going as far as to schedule a few hours each weekend to force myself to write, I find both inspiration and the passion to create through my kairos moments. My favorite time to create is when inspiration strikes and I am able to drive to a coffee shop and immediately get to work—those pieces seemingly write themselves.”

Elizabeth Hazen, “Past Life”

“I am always trying to stick to a routine, but I think the more honest answer is that I create when inspiration hits. I try to write a little something every day, but my best work happens at times totally out of my own planning.”

Jennifer Randall Hotz, “Prelude”

“I journal most mornings (usually no more than a page, sipping coffee, periodically staring out at the blossoming dawn) and try to dedicate blocks of time to creative work, but I also aim to be alert to emotions/images/phrases that might be the stirrings of a poem-in-waiting. More than once I’ve woken up in the middle of the night and hurried to jot down phrases before they flee.”

Cam McGlynn, “Some Promises Were Meant to be Broken”

“I do both, but I’m a strong believer that you must put in the time and work for your inspiration to show up. I’m not much for actual ‘routine’ as a noun, in the sense of always writing at this time in this spot with this pen and notebook. But I do try to write ‘routinely,’ often and however I can—scribbling notes at the doctor’s office, typing up a poem on my lunch break, poems beside grocery lists across dozens of different notebooks. . . . Both methods can result in a fire, but one is more reliable, if harder work, than the other. If I’m struggling to write, I remind myself what I need for fire: kindling (other poetry, books, memories, news articles, Wikipedia), oxygen (time to write, time to think without other media crowding out my thoughts), and a spark (the most mysterious part, but generally comes if I’m working at it aka writing, rather than waiting for it to happen). The more I write poetry, the quicker it is for the spark to catch. Which is not to say that it’s easy, but it is faster than waiting for lightning.”

Gloria Ogo, “Two Familiar Strangers”

“My process lives somewhere between routine and kairos. I try to keep a steady rhythm of writing because showing up to the page keeps the words moving, even on days when inspiration feels far away. But then there are those rare kairotic moments, when a line or image arrives so suddenly it feels like it’s been waiting for me all along, and I have to drop everything to chase it. Routine keeps me grounded; kairos reminds me why I write in the first place.”

Rebecca Hart Olander, “The Last”

“I haven’t always practiced writing on a regular schedule, but I have been steadfast in my attention to poetry over time. I used to think some muse had to hit me over the head to grace me with an idea. Now I know it’s necessary to, as Emily Dickinson famously said in a letter, go ‘out with lanterns looking for myself.’ For me this means cultivating fertile ground and creating sparks, such as engaging in the poetry community, spending time in artistic spaces or in nature, responding to prompts to get myself generating, and reading the work of others.”

Giulia Paglione, “At the post office”

“All my poetry happens for, within, about, and because of kairos. I wait for those moments when something shifts. Sometimes I chase them consciously, trying to capture an emotional truth as it unfolds—but the best poems arrive unannounced. They can strike anywhere: in a Byzantine church or while folding laundry in my living room.”

Danielle Salerno, “Meet Me at Burning Man”

“I try to create from routine, or at least, give myself the opportunity to do so, though oftentimes I either don’t like what I’ve come up with, or I don’t manage to come up with anything. But I do think the more writing and creating is a habit, the easier it is to have those moments of kairos to find inspiration.”

Darah Schillinger, KAIROS guest editor

“I used to always wait for inspiration to strike to write but since graduating from my writing program I often find that kairos escapes me. Being inspired felt effortless when my main job was being a writing student and now it feels more like an errand after a long day of work than a need. When I fall into these moments of lackluster I usually look for inspiration in other pieces or poets I admire and see if a word or phrase stands out. I also have been forcing myself to write for the sake of writing by carving out intentional time, which is less productive than when I wait for inspiration, but keeps the muscles moving.”

Hillary Smith-Maddern, “Intake Form After the 2024 Election”

“I have a writing routine. Or rather, I really attempt to maintain a writing routine in which I do some sort of daily writing-related task. My most visceral, sticky ideas tend to come naturally but I’m the kind of person who needs to have some sort of order in her life. I use my notes app to jot down any kairos that titillates my brain.”

erica r. such, “In Defense of Career Suicide”

“Being a college student in a writing major, I am grateful for a structured routine to write where I am assigned a wide variety of modes and prompts to explore. However, when I am not in classes, I still see inspiration for my craft everywhere I go. I keep a running document on my phone of ideas for when I feel motivated to start a new project. Sometimes, I don’t know I experienced a kairos moment until years after I experienced it. I’ll have a kairos within a kairos moment of epiphany where I realize a long forgotten event was crucial to the person and writer I am today.”

Vivian Walman-Randall, “Quilting”

“I do attempt to create my own routine, as I find that my inspiration is often there yet my urge to actually write is less. I tend to need the structure to get me to sit down and do it.”

Kathleen Weed, “Blue Jacket”

“While I admire writers who create through sticking to a routine, I find inspiration in being attentive to my wandering mind. I am inclined to write when a phrase or puzzling perception persists in my thoughts. I don’t write because I have something to say. For me, writing is an act of discovery.”

Katharine Weinmann, “Right On Time”

“Crafting and editing poems for my forthcoming collection, Skyborne Insight, Homemade Love, I developed a routine, writing with a silent Zoom group early weekday mornings. When I blog, I also typically set aside Sunday evening for a Monday drop and later in the week for a Friday poem posting. Now it’s been an occasional response to inspiration’s quiet nudge, knowing that the extraverted, exuberant energy of the all-too-short Alberta summers demands I take advantage. I’ve come to trust that once home and settled from my annual autumn travels, I’m ready to cocoon in my small studio and create. I’ve come to know that this seasonal pattern is a surrender to the wisdom of kairos, coming easier with age, where I need more quiet, more stillness, and intentional slowing down to notice and to settle a nervous system agitated by so much outer strife in the world.”

Audrey J. Whitson, “In Sharp Relief”

“I set aside time for writing on a regular basis. At times this has been daily (at one point I wrote on the bus to work), but often it has been on weekends or on occasional retreats. I journal sporadically, usually at the end of the day. I also have bursts of insight, ideas, and words while ‘averting my gaze’ from the page, especially when I walk in nature. I carry a notebook with me at all times. My maxim: write everything down.

Keri Withington, “Southern Summer #5”

“My process includes some of both. I like routine in a lot of ways, and I think that having a writing routine helps me to actually make the time to write. I am busy with work, family, gardening, and other commitments beyond writing and so it is easy for writing to be the thing that is always put off for more urgent concerns. I have started adding writing to my to-do lists and trying to schedule time for a writing routine to make sure that I actually write, even if it’s only for a few minutes. At the same time, my writing brain is always running in the background, like a crockpot that’s just kind of cooking, even when I’m not paying attention to it. I don’t always know when things will suddenly click. I also can’t predict when something will spark a new idea. With the poem ‘Southern Summer #5,’ for example, I started writing it on the back of a receipt on my steering wheel while I was stuck in traffic by the lake. I jotted down a few lines and images for it, in a moment of inspiration, then I came back to those lines later to revise and build on them.”

Chelsea Yates, “Jill”

“It’s a mix of both. I find it essential to carve out regular writing time—even just a few minutes of freewriting each day—because if I wait to ‘find time,’ it never happens. I often turn to prompts to generate ideas (I especially like Lynda Barry’s creative techniques and prompts, such as those outlined in her book What It Is—they’re great for sparking memories to explore through writing.) Most of my freewrites don’t go anywhere, but occasionally they lead to something worth developing. A few of my recent essays grew from that process. At the same time, inspiration sometimes arrives unexpectedly—through a song, a book, or, as with my essay ‘Jill,’ a conversation with a friend.

Kristin Camitta Zimet, “TIGERS”

“I trust myself to create, and I don’t feel a need to make myself write on schedule. I am just always listening in case the ghost of a poem stirs, and I fling the door open to it. If a poem is coming in, everything else has to wait. So I am never without pen and paper. (This includes when I am driving, when I am sleeping, and next to my beach shoes when I swim.) I know that tigers can yawn. Poems can leap out with the least provocation. When my little shoulder bag gets to feeling heavy, I empty it out. Last time, I found that I had squirreled away 20 pens.”

Where do you find your time to create?

Paperback and PDF versions are now available from the Yellow Arrow bookstore. Discounts are also available (here) if you would like to purchase copies for friends and family (minimum purchase of five). You can also search for Yellow Arrow Journal on any e-book device or anywhere you purchase print and electronic books, including Amazon and most other distribution channels. Discounted bundles of both our 2025 issues are also available from our bookstore.

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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women-identifying writers through publication and access to the literary arts. You can support us as we BLAZE a path for women-identifying creatives this year by purchasing one of our publications or a workshop from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, for yourself or as a gift, joining our newsletter, following us on Facebook or Instagram, or subscribing to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 65185, Baltimore, Maryland 21209). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.

Kapua Iao 11/11/25 Kapua Iao 11/11/25

Time, Memory, and Snapshots of Life: Yellow Arrow Journal (Vol. X, No. 2) KAIROS

Now, I try to remember.
Not just her
but who I was
before I learned
that time can fold in on itself.

“Two Familiar Strangers” by Gloria Ogo

KAIROS, the just released issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. X, No. 2, guest edited by Darah Schillinger, explores the aftermath and aftereffects of catalytic moments, forged from either small flash fires or conflagration. Kairos is a Greek word meaning an opportune and decisive moment. We are honored to have had the opportunity to work with the team, the authors, and the cover artist as we weaved together this issue, especially at a time when such personal, poignant stories are so vital. We are also privileged to be able to share it (and them) with you. In the issue’s introduction, Darah adds:

“. . . as I reread each piece within the issue, I am struck by how deeply personal and yet widely resonant they are. In these pages, you’ll find contributors who are navigating memory, grief, identity, and change—not to relive the past but to better understand how it informs who they are and who they could become.”

Darah Schillinger (she/her) is a writer based in Lexington Park, Maryland. Her poems have appeared in AVATAR Literary Magazine, Yellow Arrow Journal, Maryland Bards Poetry Review, Empyrean Literary Magazine, Grub Street Magazine, and Eunoia Review and on the Spillwords Press website. In October 2024, her poem “An elegy for the Pompeii woman the Internet wants to fuck” was named a finalist for the Montreal International Poetry Prize. Her first poetry chapbook, when the daffodils die, was released in July 2022 by Yellow Arrow Publishing. Her second collection, Still Warm, is a work in progress.

KAIROS features Stephanie Anderson, Aileen Bassis, Deepti Bhatia, Loretta Cantieri, Roxanne Christiana, Virginia Ottley Craighill, Patricia Davis-Muffett, Amy Devine, Johanna Elattar, Renee Emerson, Pratibha Kumari Gupta, Taylor Harrison, Elizabeth Hazen, Jennifer Randall Hotz, Cam McGlynn, Gloria Ogo, Rebecca Hart Olander, Giulia Paglione, Danielle Salerno, Hillary Smith-Maddern, erica r. such, Vivian Walman-Randall, Kathleen Weed, Katharine Weinmann, Audrey J. Whitson, Keri Withington, Chelsea Yates, and Kristin Camitta Zimet.

The cover art is called “The Awakening Aperture” and created by Clara Garza. According to Clara, “The circle (inspired by the aperture of a camera, or the lens that captures a fleeting fragment of time) is composed of pieces of the diary of a fictional college student experiencing college life, from the day she is accepted to the school to her graduation. Her initial doubt is reflected by the moody outer rim of the circle, and as she opens herself to the brightness of college, she starts to appreciate her life more fully.” Thank you, Clara, for sending us your artwork and for letting us showcase it to our community. You can learn more about Clara in an interview with Darah at yellowarrowpublishing.com/news/spotlighting-clara-garza-yaj-kairos.

A huge thanks to the Yellow Arrow team for helping to shape this issue: guest editor Darah Schillinger and creative director Alexa Laharty, along with the KAIROS editorial team, Kapua Iao, Annie Marhefka, Hannah Bishoff, Jill Earl, Jennnifer M. Eyre, Meg Gamble, Siobhan McKenna, Leticia Priebe Rocha, Kait Quinn, Nicky Ruddell, Mel Silberger, Beck Snyder, and Avery Wood.

We hope you enjoy reading KAIROS as much as we enjoyed creating it. Thank you for your continued encouragement of Yellow Arrow Publishing and the creatives involved in KAIROS.

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Kapua Iao 10/29/25 Kapua Iao 10/29/25

Spotlighting Clara Garza: Yellow Arrow Journal X/02 KAIROS Cover Artist

By Darah Schillinger

Clara Garza is a 16-year-old writer and senior at California State University, Los Angeles. She serves as a politics and world health journalist with The Borgen Project and contributes editorially to numerous journals. Her creative and critical work has earned recognition across essay, photography, performance, and visual arts contests, including in statewide and national outlets like the NOAA and KCACTF. Clara is also the cover artist for the second issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. X, on KAIROS, guest edited by Darah Schillinger. The issue comes out on November 11 and is currently available for preorder at yellowarrowpublishing.com/store/yellow-arrow-journal-kairos-paperback. KAIROS explores the aftermath and aftereffects of catalytic moments, forged from either small flash fires or conflagration, and is a Greek word meaning an opportune and decisive moment.

Make sure to take your time exploring Clara’s beautiful mixed-media collage, “The Awakening Aperture,” on the cover of KAIROS. According to Clara, “The circle (inspired by the aperture of a camera, or the lens that captures a fleeting fragment of time) is composed of pieces of the diary of a fictional college student experiencing college life, from the day she is accepted to the school to her graduation. Her initial doubt is reflected by the moody outer rim of the circle, and as she opens herself to the brightness of college, she starts to appreciate her life more fully.” Thank you, Clara, for sending us your artwork and for letting us showcase it to our community.

Recently, Clara answered some questions about herself and her aspirations from Darah.

“The Awakening Aperture” beautifully captures a decisive moment through both concept and form. What first inspired this piece, and how did it evolve from idea to execution?

This piece originated from a college art project prompt that focused on empowering dreams and transforming lives. Since the deadline was the following day when I first received it, I found myself feeling like I could make it—especially since I did not want to take the easy option of painting a college graduate with outstretched arms looking toward the sky. The ending of that story felt too static for me. That evening, I stood just outside my house, pondering how I could incorporate my major (English) into the work of art. A few minutes passed, and the visual of a collage made of literary quotes flashed in my mind. Had I continued with that idea, the paper would have been white, and the camera would have been positioned so that the edges of the collage were not visible. “How would that be empowering dreams or transforming lives?” I thought. Shortly after, I conceived the idea of transforming the quotes into diary entries, and the author into a student who undertook the task of creating an aperture into one of the most transformative experiences of her life. The construction of the piece involved collage, aging techniques, and a sense of symmetry. Each diary strip was individually written, cut, and placed to follow the aperture’s form. The aperture is the symbol of zooming in on one’s own potential more clearly.

As a writer, journalist, and visual artist—is there a particular medium that feels most like home to you? Or is it freeing to switch between them?

I feel nomadic in my eclecticism: The entire world of expression feels like home to me; it is just a matter of circumstances and my personal sense of desire to identify where I will be residing for the night. In that way, I could not imagine, not switching between them—and quite a few more!

What most often inspires your visual work? Are there specific artists, places, or experiences that consistently fuel your imagination?

Funnily enough, I do not know. The most consistent fuel for my imagination is being alone, especially when standing right outside my house in the evening. I can never quite predict when the next idea will come.

This journal issue explores KAIROS—an opportune or decisive moment. How does your piece engage with this idea, especially in the context of memory, self-discovery, or growth?

I believe in the poise of the littlest moments in great endeavors. It is up to the individual to find the kairos in what they remember, do, and desire for the future. There will never be a “perfect” moment to do something, and time is always of the essence, so being opportune and decisive converts ordinary time into meaning.

Your use of mixed media—sewing supplies, suede, torn paper—adds a tactile and almost archival feel to the work. What role do material textures play in conveying the emotional landscape of the diary entries?

Textures create a feeling. Mixed media pop out of an image. These domestic items feel like home to me and hopefully to many others. In monetary value, they might not be worth more than a few cents. In this sense, the diary entries could be from anyone. Through arrangement, these feelings become more immediate to observers.

The circle in your piece acts as both a literal and metaphorical aperture. Why did you choose this symbol and what does it reveal about how you perceive time or change?

Pictures are still, but apertures see all even when the camera is not on. They understand the shift between shadow and light that forms every act of creation. In that space between what is captured and what is lost the still becomes living and perception becomes creative awareness.

There’s a quiet optimism in how the college student character moves from doubt to belonging. What message or emotion do you hope viewers take away when they first encounter “The Awakening Aperture” on the cover of Yellow Arrow Journal?

I hope the viewer feels drawn into the light of the future and acknowledges the beauty in darkness. I hope they see that fragments make up a meaningful whole and that the past continues to grow with you as a reflection, since it will never be quite over, and that they strive to foster the continuation of many awakening apertures of their own.

As a politics and world health journalist with The Borgen Project, how does global advocacy influence your art, if at all?

I often think about how the number of successful individuals with a fortunate upbringing reflects the number of those with unanswered potential who lack the resources to pursue their passions. In that sense, I plan to continue using my platform, which combines artistic and journalistic voices, to draw attention to and advocate for action on behalf of many individuals facing unfair circumstances. This is a continuing cause we must recognize as long as it persists.

Given your editorial contributions and contest success, what advice would you give to other young creators trying to find their voice?

Random thoughts are artistic superpowers. Never dismiss them—listen to them. They are prompts in themselves. How might two intertwine? There is no such thing as not belonging in a particular realm of thought, nor is the lack of specialization a valid excuse for not finding one’s voice somewhere new. Your career(s) should be your passion, and your passion is invaluable to the world. You are not just another child with a dream. You have potential. You can pursue many things deeply if they move you. Take a step back from life and look at yourself like the protagonist in a fantasy story. Analyze the decisions the protagonist makes; the reality is that every decision has strengths and flaws. Do not stop at saying that you could have done something different, better, or worse. Take action and stay unpretentious throughout the process. Have fun sharing what you have done. It is never too early or too late to rethink the direction you are going in because 360° of possibilities will always be around you.

What’s next for you—creatively, academically, or professionally? Are there any upcoming projects you’re especially excited about?

I am applying to pursue a master’s degree in screenwriting. Since film requires a mastery of artistic awareness, I am excited to leverage my eclecticism to write impactful movies. Film feels like a natural extension because it combines story, picture, and emotion within a single medium. An upcoming project I look forward to is my thesis on the subtle presence of ideological reinforcement and dismantling in children’s literature. I am also excited about my visual and literary works being accepted into more journals.

Thank you Clara for finding the time to answer our questions and for being a part of KAIROS. And thank you to everyone for supporting the creatives involved in the issue. You can preorder your copy of KAIROS at yellowarrowpublishing.com/store/yellow-arrow-journal-kairos-paperback. If you want to reserve a copy of both issues of 2025, make sure to pick up a discounted journal bundle at yellowarrowpublishing.com/store/yellow-arrow-journal-bundle, for yourself or as a gift.

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Kapua Iao 8/1/25 Kapua Iao 8/1/25

Yellow Arrow Journal (X/02) KAIROS Submissions are Now Open!

Yellow Arrow Publishing is excited to announce that submissions for our next issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. X, No. 2 (fall 2025) are open August 1-31, exploring the aftermath and aftereffects of catalytic moments, forged from either small flash fires or conflagration. And in her introductory blog, guest editor Darah Schillinger (she/her) explained how moments of her life, even those painful, helped to shape the person she is today.

“Over the two and half decades of my life so far, I have become and unbecome, unveiled and recovered, so many parts of my identity that when I look at a picture of myself young (“straight, neurotypical, healthy”) I instead see a child that I haven’t spoken to in 20 years and wish well. As a writer, I have spent much of my adult life considering the aftermath of these catalysts, looking for meaning in them and the varied ways these moments have shaped my present and future. And while finding some kind of meaning, every now and then, I know, and am okay with the fact, that I will continue to discover new things about myself through these events.”

By working through the aftermaths of each moment, each event, Darah was able to discover more about who she is and who she wants to be. Darah is a writer based in Lexington Park, Maryland. Her poems have appeared in AVATAR Literary Magazine, Yellow Arrow Journal, Maryland Bards Poetry Review, Empyrean Magazine, Grub Street Magazine, and The Eunoia Review and on the Spillwords Press website. In October 2024, her poem, An elegy for the Pompeii woman the Internet wants to fuck, was named a finalist for the Montreal International Poetry Prize. Her first poetry chapbook, when the daffodils die, was released in July 2022 by Yellow Arrow Publishing. Her second collection, Still Warm, is a work in progress.

The second issue of volume X will reflect on this idea, our (collective/individual) experiences with the blazes, trials, and/or life events that shape both our present and imagined futures as we search for our path(s) forward. This issue’s theme is KAIROS

: a time when conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action

: an opportune and decisive moment

: in modern Greek, also ‘weather’ or ‘time’

: in ancient Greek, ‘the right or critical moment’

Here are some guiding questions about the topic and theme:

Consider the long-term effects of an event, feeling, or experience. How has it shaped you, your speaker, or your writing as a whole?
Has this impactful experience uncovered something positive?
What is the timeliness of your writing? What is it about now that makes you want to reflect?
When you write, what is it you are looking for? If you’re unsure, search for something.

Yellow Arrow Journal is looking for creative nonfiction, poetry, and cover art submissions by writers/artists who identify as women, on the theme of KAIROS. Submissions can be in any language as long as an English translation accompanies it. For more information regarding journal submission guidelines, please visit yellowarrowpublishing.com/submissions. Please read our guidelines carefully before submitting. To learn more about our editorial views and how important your voice is in your story, read about the journal. This issue will be released in November 2025.

The journal is just one of many ways that Yellow Arrow Publishing works to support and inspire women-identifying creatives through publication and access to the literary arts. Since its founding in 2016, Yellow Arrow has worked tirelessly to make an impact on the local and global community by advocating for writers who identify as women. Yellow Arrow proudly represents the voices of women from around the globe. Creating diversity in the literary world and providing a safe space is deeply important. Every writer has a story to tell, every story is worth telling.

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Kapua Iao 7/15/25 Kapua Iao 7/15/25

Become and Unbecome, Unveil and Recover

Yellow Arrow Publishing would like to announce the next guest editor for Yellow Arrow Journal, Darah Schillinger. Darah will oversee the creation of our Vol. X, No. 2 issue (fall 2025). This next issue of Yellow Arrow Journal examines the aftermath and aftereffects of catalytic moments, forged from either small flash fires or conflagration. It will reflect on our (collective/individual) experiences with the blazes, trials, and/or life events that shape both our present and imagined futures as we search for our path(s) forward.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

Theme announcement: July 21
Submissions open: August 1
Submissions close: August 31
Issue release: November 11

Darah Schillinger (she/her) is a writer based in Lexington Park, Maryland. Her poems have appeared in AVATAR Literary Magazine, Yellow Arrow Journal, Maryland Bards Poetry Review, Empyrean Magazine, Grub Street Magazine, and The Eunoia Review and on the Spillwords Press website. In October 2024, her poem, An elegy for the Pompeii woman the Internet wants to fuck, was named a finalist for the Montreal International Poetry Prize. Her first poetry chapbook, when the daffodils die, was released in July 2022 by Yellow Arrow Publishing. Her second collection, Still Warm, is a work in progress.

Please follow Yellow Arrow on Facebook and Instagram for the theme announcement. Below, Darah explains how moments of her life, even those painful, helped to shape the person she is today. By working through the aftermaths of each moment, each event, Darah was able to discover more about who she is and who she wants to be. We look forward to working with Darah over the next few months and can’t wait to hear your words.

The following contains description of trauma

By Darah Schillinger

When I was seven years old, my father’s brother passed away suddenly, and I was told he had suffered a heart attack. It wasn’t until I was 15 that I learned he was bipolar and had violently taken his own life after multiple attempts over the years, and that my parents had protected me from knowing about his struggle with depression. As a child, mental illness was not discussed in my household because it was often synonymous with substance abuse, or rage, or betrayal. Testing and therapy were not considered, and if a family member was showing obvious signs or symptoms of an illness, it was whispered about in car rides before holidays or hushed corners of my grandmother’s house between dinner and dessert. We rarely spoke of my uncle, a veteran; by all accounts an angry man who failed, or was failed by, the system.

In middle school, I gravitated toward the “funny” kids that seemed to only fit in with each other. Looking back, they were all neurodivergent in some way, though we hadn’t been given a word for it yet. Many of them also identified as bisexual, or lesbian, or queer, and I was bestowed the honor of “the token straight friend” of the group, which I carried for years with pride. When my friends began confiding in me about their depression, or their social anxiety, or inability to understand social cues, I listened and did my best to remain empathetic, though I often struggled to understand because I had never experienced what they were describing. Growing up, I was considered a happy, outgoing, high-achieving kid with a stable home life. The one time I was tested for ADHD, the child psychiatrist told my parents I was just smart and bored, so I was acting out, which they proudly told to the rest of the family. In this way, I became the “token neurotypical friend,” too, though I wouldn’t confront this label for another decade.

I didn’t find many large pieces of my identity, such as my queerness, my chronic illness, or my mental illness, until I was a young adult. I spent my entire childhood wrongly labelled an ally to the queer and disabled communities, when, in reality, I was a part of the communities the entire time. But with all these aspects of my identity, there is a doubt that creeps into their legitimacy. I am mentally ill, but I’m “high functioning.” I am queer, but in a straight passing relationship. I am chronically ill but carry forward an invisible illness. I pose every day as a supportive ally when, in reality, I am a rightful member of the communities I serve, and this dichotomy often seeps into my writing. So, when I began brainstorming themes for this upcoming issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, I kept thinking about my uncle and my need for answers—for closure. In returning to these seemingly contradictory parts of myself, their discovery and their long-term effects on my identity, I am finding something entirely new.

There was a catalyst that accompanied each of my discoveries: a fatigue, or event, or an epiphany that led to me uncovering each buried part of myself. I discovered my bisexuality by chance during the first week of college, when I picked up a pin with the bisexual flag colors and allowed myself to consider, for the first time, my repressed feelings of attraction toward women. My chronic illness stemmed from a doctor’s visit after weeks of severe abdominal pain that was misdiagnosed twice before being taken seriously. My mental illness, which I have only this past June been formally diagnosed with, began as a minor inconvenience and turned into severe burnout that led to the beginnings of a nervous break. Even my uncle’s passing, though I can barely remember it now, was a catalyst for something I have yet to title or address.

Over the two and half decades of my life so far, I have become and unbecome, unveiled and recovered, so many parts of my identity that when I look at a picture of myself young (“straight, neurotypical, healthy”) I instead see a child that I haven’t spoken to in 20 years and wish well. As a writer, I have spent much of my adult life considering the aftermath of these catalysts, looking for meaning in them and the varied ways these moments have shaped my present and future. And while finding some kind of meaning, every now and then, I know, and am okay with the fact, that I will continue to discover new things about myself through these events.

In this issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, let’s reflect on our catalysts, the moments and memories that shape us, and the timeliness of the aftermath. In what ways has it shaped our identities? Our imagined futures? I invite you to take this submission period as an opportunity to dig into the core memories and catalysts until you find something worth writing about.

*****

Kapua Iao 6/3/25 Kapua Iao 6/3/25

A Chorus of Many: Reflecting on the UNFURL Issue

By Sara J. Streeter

In 2021, I remember how drawn I was to Yellow Arrow Journal as I began my foray into the literary journal abyss. Their values and mission aligned with my own, and as a fellow Marylander, I felt a connection to Baltimore. Little did I know I would be a guest editor just a few years later!

All my nonfiction writing is vulnerable and hard to put out into the world, but my story, “Bitter / Sweet” was a particularly tender piece about my adoption journey. After working on it on and off for years, a Yellow Arrow workshop I took with Kerry Graham helped me align the string I was trying to thread through it, and “Bitter / Sweet” was published in Yellow Arrow Journal, kitalo, Vol. IX, No. 2.

In early December 2024, when the email asking if I would be the guest editor popped in my inbox, I had no idea what the next months held—for me personally or for the country. As a working parent with two young kids, I worried about taking on something else, but I knew I would regret passing on the opportunity if I didn’t try. There is never a perfect time to do anything; you just have to do it.

Unfurl: I’ve always loved the word. It ignites so many delicious metaphors and images. When we chose it for the issue’s theme, I envisioned contributors really pushing and pulling the idea, sculpting it into their own. They did not disappoint! Each piece I read was a different interpretation with a range of subjects that captured unfurl from every angle, sense, and phase. I found solace, compassion, and humanity in the words of our contributors. Each piece was a single voice, which together became a powerful chorus of many.

The idea of community has recently been at the forefront of my mind. In her book The Serviceberry, Robin Wall Kimmerer reflects on something she refers to as a “gift economy,” in which individuals share what they have with each other to strengthen connections and invest in trust. “A gift economy nurtures the community bonds that enhance mutual well-being; the economic unit is ‘we’ rather than ‘I,’ as all flourishing is mutual.” To me, this collection of writing embodies a gift economy. Each of these pieces is a unique gift of lived experience and vulnerability. In sharing their precious time, talent, and energy, our contributors make the Yellow Arrow community a rich, vibrant space. Similarly, throughout this months’ long experience (new to me!), Yellow Arrow’s staff and volunteers have extended such gracious support to me every step of the way. Finally, Yellow Arrow Creative Director Alexa Laharty’s contribution of creativity and patience resulted in a truly sensational cover design.

Thank you to our contributors, volunteers, staff, and readers for sharing your gifts. You make our community flourish.

Onward to joy,

Sara

*****

Kapua Iao 5/20/25 Kapua Iao 5/20/25

Finding Self-Reflection and Strength in Community: Yellow Arrow Journal (Vol. X, No. 1) UNFURL

We are the same.
Drained, chafed, stripped, scavenged,
we submit to the great unveiling;

“Fruit of the Spirit” by Kellie D. Brown

UNFURL, the just released issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. X, No. 1, guest edited by Sara J. Streeter, explores how people seek to find themselves. UNFURL is a soul-searching survey of the unique journeys people take when experiencing and undergoing self-transformation, journeys that all start with a little fire, a desire, deep inside. We are honored to have had the opportunity to work with the included creatives to craft such a vibrant narrative, especially at a time when such personal, heart-wrenching stories are so vital. We are also privileged to be able to share it (and them) with you. In the issue’s introduction, Sara adds:

“I am honored to bear witness to stories that weave perspective and deep reflection into such strength. They remind me that community and imagination are powerful gifts we all have access to.”

UNFURL features Storm Ainsely, Heather Brown Barrett, Michelle Bovée Stange, Kellie D. Brown, Tricia Gates Brown, Carrie Aurelius Carlisle, Brandy Bell Carter, Alexis F., Hillary Gonzalez, LuLu Grant, Melanie Hyo-In Han, Kalehua Kim, Majiq Vu Mai, Mansi, Sini Marcks, Mary McAfoose, Shannon McNicholas, Nia P., Emma Reyes, Lindsay B. Sears, Alyce Shu, Cat Speranzini, Beverley Sylvester, Laura Taber, Bethany Tap, Jo Tyler, and Jessica Zarrillo.

The cover of UNFURL had its own journey to creation from choosing one to feature among the incredible submissions we received to unfortunately not hearing back from the artist, and finally and happily, to finding the perfect voice for the issue’s cover in Yellow Arrow’s Creative Director Alexa Laharty. According to Alexa, “My intention with the piece was to portray the joyous emotions that accompany a release from the constraints of worry and anxiety.” Sara adds, “Alexa brilliantly showcases the cover woman’s unfurling sense of joy and freedom through her expression and stance.” Thank you, Alexa and Sara, for your incredible vision.

A huge thanks to the rest of the Yellow Arrow team for helping to shape this issue: guest editor Sara J. Streeter, along with the UNFURL editorial team, Arrieonna Derricoatte, Jill Earl, Angela Firman, Barbara Frey, Meg Gamble, Gabby Granillo, Jacqueline Goldman, Siobhan McKenna, Melissa Nunez, Kait Quinn, Leticia Priebe Rocha, and Emily Ross.

We hope you enjoy reading UNFURL as much as we enjoyed creating it. Thank you for your continued encouragement of Yellow Arrow Publishing and the creatives involved in UNFURL.

*****

Kapua Iao 2/1/25 Kapua Iao 2/1/25

Yellow Arrow Journal (X/01) UNFURL Submissions are Now Open!

Yellow Arrow Publishing is excited to announce that submissions for our next issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. X, No. 1 (spring 2025) are open February 1-28, exploring the process people go through when finding and transforming into their authentic selves. In her introductory blog, guest editor Sara J. Streeter (she/her) recently explored her personal journey with her adoption and her Korean-American heritage.

“I gave myself space and tended to my pain, prioritizing self-compassion when grief gnawed at me. Like a tree burning from the inside out, a flame inside me flickered, begging for release, though once I let it out, I couldn’t go back to the person I had been. . . . Writing my story gave me permission to examine the parts and pieces that were at times too ugly, too dark, too broken to touch. When people read what I wrote, it felt like the fire leapt from my throat and danced its way out into the world.”

The first issue of volume X will be a survey of the unique journeys people take when experiencing and undergoing self-transformation, journeys that all start with a little fire, a desire, deep inside. This issue’s theme is UNFURL

: to release from a furled, coiled, or wrapped state
: to open out from or as if from a furled state
: to unfold

Do you need some help choosing the right piece to submit? Here are some guiding questions about the topic and theme:

What role did community play in finding yourself?
How has your sense of self changed due to your transformation? What about your relationships?
What did you find along the way?
What do you still need to be authentically you?
Was there something that forced you to be a different version of yourself? How did you internalize it?

Yellow Arrow Journal is looking for creative nonfiction, poetry, and cover art submissions by writers/artists who identify as women, on the theme of UNFURL. Submissions can be in any language as long as an English translation accompanies it. For more information regarding journal submission guidelines, please visit yellowarrowpublishing.com/submissions. Please read our guidelines carefully before submitting. To learn more about our editorial views and how important your voice is in your story, read about the journal. This issue will be released in May 2025.

UNFURL’s guest editor, Sara J. Streeter or 한혜숙 Hea Sook Han, is a writer and a Korean-American adoptee. Since starting her writing journey in 2021, Sara found her writing community through Adoptee Voices and developed a meaningful connection to readers, both within the adoption constellation and beyond. She mainly writes creative nonfiction prose and has been published in literary journals, such as Longleaf Review, Hippocampus Magazine, Peatsmoke Journal, The Rappahannock Review, GASHER Journal, Cutleaf Journal, and others. Sara has been nominated for Best of the Net, Best Microfiction, and Best Small Fiction. She joined the Yellow Arrow community when her piece “Bitter / Sweet” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal kitalo Vol. IX, No. 2. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her family and is an interior designer for a small hospitality firm. You can find her at sarajstreeter.com. We are excited to work with Sara on UNFURL over the next few months.

*****

Kapua Iao 1/14/25 Kapua Iao 1/14/25

The Desire and Fire Within All of Us to Find Ourselves

Yellow Arrow Publishing would like to announce the next guest editor for Yellow Arrow Journal, Sara J. Streeter. Sara will oversee the creation of our Vol. X, No. 1 issue (spring 2025).

This next issue of Yellow Arrow Journal explores the process people go through when finding and transforming into their authentic selves. This issue will be a survey of the unique journeys people take when experiencing and undergoing self-transformation, journeys that all start with a little fire, a desire, deep inside.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

Theme announcement: January 20
Submissions open: February 1
Submissions close: February 28
Issue release: May 20

Sara J. Streeter (she/her), or 한혜숙 Hea Sook Han, is a writer and a Korean-American adoptee. Since starting her writing journey in 2021, Sara found her writing community through Adoptee Voices and developed a meaningful connection to readers, both within the adoption constellation and beyond. She mainly writes creative nonfiction prose and has been published in literary journals, such as Longleaf Review, Hippocampus Magazine, Peatsmoke Journal, The Rappahannock Review, GASHER Journal, Cutleaf Journal, and others. Sara has been nominated for Best of the Net, Best Microfiction, and Best Small Fiction. She joined the Yellow Arrow community when her piece “Bitter / Sweet” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal kitalo Vol. IX, No. 2. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her family and is an interior designer for a small hospitality firm. You can find her at sarajstreeter.com.

You can also find the video above on the Yellow Arrow YouTube channel. Please follow Yellow Arrow on Facebook and Instagram for the theme announcement. Below, you can read more about Sara’s self-reflection into who she is, where she came from, and who she wants to be. Her words below explore her self-journey, and we can’t wait to hear yours. We look forward to working with Sara over the next few months.

By Sara J. Streeter

Just a few years ago, you wouldn’t find me here, writing about my South Korean birth family or the unyielding adoption industry. I was out wandering in the fog—a soft, cozy place of adoption unawareness I inhabited nearly my entire life. I hadn’t yet “come out of the fog,” or in other words, I had not gotten to a place where I accepted the realities of my relinquishment and familial displacement. The fog protected me from emotions I couldn’t quite process and from complex concepts I had yet to understand. It probably saved my life though, in turn, it kept me from understanding who I was, a cruel bargain.

So, what happened when, as an adult, I emerged from that comfortable bubble—when I came to consciousness about my adoption? I reluctantly began to understand my story was made of the “both–and”: By both love and structural systems of oppression. By both self-sacrifice and the lucrative business of adoption. The both–and was, and still is, difficult to hold with both hands. I had to come to terms with the idea that adoption starts with loss, and I had lost so, so much. Who I was as a person began to fundamentally change, but I still had to wake up, drive to work, attend the meeting, make dinner, maintain conversation, laugh when I was supposed to, pay taxes, dress myself, survive. I had to settle for being unsatisfied in knowing both too much and yet not enough.

I gave myself space and tended to my pain, prioritizing self-compassion when grief gnawed at me. Like a tree burning from the inside out, a flame inside me flickered, begging for release, though once I let it out, I couldn’t go back to the person I had been. I was scared that if I let it, the blaze would consume me. On the heels of 2020, as a working parent nearing middle age, I began to write. Writing my story gave me permission to examine the parts and pieces that were at times too ugly, too dark, too broken to touch. When people read what I wrote, it felt like the fire leapt from my throat and danced its way out into the world. Support came in the form of connection with readers and writers within the adoption community and beyond. I could breathe again. To become, I learned, I had to unbecome who I had been, and writing became a sanctuary for my transformation.

We are all shaped by the things in our lives. Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and open to possibilities of a new self is brave and hard. In this issue to Yellow Arrow Journal, I invite us to consider the ways we embrace changing into our authentic selves, what we gain and lose, and how we build connection through sharing the journey. If we can imagine a world in which we are liberated from obsolete systems and tired stories and, instead, trust the process of change, we can get further together than alone.

*****

Kapua Iao 11/12/24 Kapua Iao 11/12/24

Memorializing Griefulness: Yellow Arrow Journal (Vol. IX, No. 2) kitalo

How brave you are
Confronting things you cannot control

“Temporary Homes” by Kat Flores

Kitalo, the just released issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. IX, No. 2, guest edited by Tramaine Suubi, explores the poignant intersection of grief and gratitude. While deciding on the theme of the issue, the term “kitalo” spoke to everyone on staff as it seems to have for those who submitted to Yellow Arrow Journal in August. “Kitalo” is an empathetic Luganda term of solidarity offered when someone experiences a spectrum of loss. Directly translating to “this/that is tragic” but far richer than that, the term and the pieces within kitalo represent so much that we want to say on the concept of griefulness, as individuals and as a collective.

We are honored to release the latest issue of Yellow Arrow Journal and are fortunate to share the voices within. In the issue’s introduction, Tramaine adds:

“Being the guest editor is a privilege, but the greatest gift I received in this role is true vulnerability. I grieve and give thanks alongside each of our artists here. I hope their words are lifegiving for you, just as they are for me.”

Paperback and PDF versions are now available from the Yellow Arrow bookstore. Discounts are also available (here) if you would like to purchase copies for friends and family (minimum purchase of five). You can also search for Yellow Arrow Journal on any e-book device or anywhere you purchase print and electronic books, including Amazon and most other distribution channels. Discounted bundles of our 2024 issues (ELEVATE and kitalo) are also available from our bookstore.

Tramaine Suubi (she/they) is a multilingual writer who was born in Kampala, Uganda. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Their forthcoming debut is a full-length poetry collection titled phases, which will be published in January 2025. Their forthcoming second book is also a full-length poetry collection titled stages, which will be published in January 2026. Both books will be published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins.

The cover image (cover design by Alexa Laharty) is called Growing by Dark Rivers by Liz Jakimow. According to Liz, “There is often a lot of darkness in my photographs now. While some may find it depressing, it feels more authentic to who I am. Yet there are also often elements that draw attention to the light, symbolizing hope.” Thank you Liz for expressing the heart of kitalo through your photograph and your words.

We hope you enjoy reading kitalo as much as we enjoyed creating it. Thank you for your continued encouragement of Yellow Arrow Publishing and the creatives involved in kitalo.

*****

Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women-identifying writers through publication and access to the literary arts. You can support us as we AMPLIFY women-identifying creatives this year by purchasing one of our publications or a workshop from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, for yourself or as a gift, joining our newsletter, following us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, or subscribing to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 65185, Baltimore, Maryland 21209). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.

Kapua Iao 8/1/24 Kapua Iao 8/1/24

Yellow Arrow Journal (IX/02) Kitalo Submissions are Now Open!

Yellow Arrow Publishing is excited to announce that submissions for our next issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. IX, No. 2 (fall 2024) is open August 1-31, exploring the concept griefulness, an intertwining of grief and gratitude. Guest editor, Tramaine Suubi contemplated about the term and how “it feels deeply resonant for our current times. My life, my very body, feels full of grief. As I tried to find home on 15 wildly different streets, in five cities, across four nations, on three continents, my body certainly kept the score. . . . In my present season of life, I am reclaiming darkness and blackness as spaces of goodness—as spaces of rest, reflection, and revival. . . . Grief and gratitude are often intertwined in my findings.”

This issue’s theme is kitalo

: an empathetic Luganda term of solidarity offered when someone experiences a spectrum of loss

: directly translates to “this/that is tragic” but is far richer than that

Our hope is that this issue gives women-identifying creatives a place where they can meditate on communal grief and communal gratitude. Here are some guiding questions about the theme:

1) In the midst of grief, how have others cared for you, how do you care for others, and how do you care for yourself? What are the most striking or profound examples you have experienced or witnessed?

2) If your grief were to take the form of an animal (remember, humans are animals, too), which animal (fictional, nonfictional, or extinct) would it be and how would this animal behave? Be as specific as possible. Feel free to defy logic and science; grief often can.

3) Have you ever immigrated to or emigrated from a different nation than your current nation of residence? What potential life paths and livelihoods did you leave behind as a result? Which ones do you still yearn for and why, if any?

4) Have you ever experienced a platonic break-up (real or imaginary friend)? If so, how do you specifically navigate or ignore the gaps left by lost friendship?

5) Who (fictional or nonfictional) is no longer present in your life, whom you would like to offer your deepest gratitude to?

Yellow Arrow Journal is looking for creative nonfiction, poetry, and cover art submissions by writers/artists who identify as women, on the theme of kitalo. Submissions can be in any language as long as an English translation accompanies it. For more information regarding journal submission guidelines, please visit yellowarrowpublishing.com/submissions. Please read our guidelines carefully before submitting. To learn more about our editorial views and how important your voice is in your story, read about the journal. This issue will be released in November 2024.

Kitalo’s guest editor, Tramaine Suubi (she/they) is a multilingual writer who was born in Kampala. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Their forthcoming debut is a full-length poetry collection titled phases, which will be published in January 2025. Their forthcoming second book is also a full-length poetry collection titled stages, which will be published in January 2026. Both books will be published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins. Tramaine was one of our 2023 writers in residence and their poem "begin again" was included in Yellow Arrow Journal ELEVATE (IX/01). We appreciate all that she has done for Yellow Arrow and are excited to welcome Tramaine on this new venture.

*****

Kapua Iao 7/16/24 Kapua Iao 7/16/24

On the Fullness of Grief

Yellow Arrow Publishing would like to announce the next guest editor for Yellow Arrow Journal, Tramaine Suubi. Tramaine will oversee the creation of our Vol. IX, No. 2 issue (fall 2024).

This next issue of Yellow Arrow Journal explores the concept grieful, whether grief is unconventional, unexpected, unpredictable, unabashed, undying. How can grieving and its rituals and odes be a loud testament to what it is that one is grieving and gratified for? To learn more about this term, read Tramaine’s words below. Mark your calendar! The theme will be released next week. Submissions open August 1 and the issue will be released in November.

Tramaine Suubi (she/they) is a multilingual writer who was born in Kampala. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her forthcoming debut is a full-length poetry collection titled phases, which will be published in January 2025. Her forthcoming second book is also a full-length poetry collection titled stages, which will be published in January 2026. Both books will be published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins. Tramaine was one of our 2023 writers in residence and their poem "begin again" was included in Yellow Arrow Journal ELEVATE (IX/01). We appreciate all that she has done for Yellow Arrow and are excited to welcome Tramaine on this new venture.

Please follow Yellow Arrow on Facebook and Instagram for the theme announcement. Below, you can read more about Tramaine’s perspective on grief. We look forward to (re)working with Tramaine over the next few months.

Show some love to Tramaine on YouTube here.

By Tramaine Suubi

The idea we plan to explore for the forthcoming issue of Yellow Arrow Journal (Vol. IX, No. 02) is grieful. This term was created by my psychologist, and it feels deeply resonant for our current times. My life, my very body, feels full of grief. As I tried to find home on 15 wildly different streets, in five cities, across four nations, on three continents, my body certainly kept the score. We began the COVID pandemic with emails hoping to find us well, when most of us rarely were. Government officials and publications often wrapped the chaos of our lives in the package of “these unprecedented times.” The times were definitely unprecedented, but they are also so much more than that. Many social media users still allude to the profound exhaustion of living through major historical events. I am right there with them. Decades from now, I wonder what scientific studies will teach us about the unquantifiable loss that our society is simply not processing.

As a writer, editor, and teacher, I am obsessed with words. Not only is “Words of Affirmation” my primary love language for receiving, but it is also the primary way I give love. When it comes to grief, words do not feel adequate because language is inherently limited. I eventually found freedom from this finitude of language by being content to bear witness to the infinity of human experience. There really is an art to witnessing. My favorite essay is “Poetry is not a Luxury” by the late, great Audre Lorde. She is one of my guiding lights not only in the practice of writing but the practice of living. In the first half of the essay, she illustrates the beauty of the dark as a place of transformation. She believes, “These places of possibility within ourselves are dark because they are ancient and hidden; they have survived and grown strong through darkness.

In my present season of life, I am reclaiming darkness and blackness as spaces of goodness—as spaces of rest, reflection, and revival. And so, as I wade through these depths, I keep encountering grief. I commune with my grief and listen to her diligently. She is teaching me so much. Whenever I come up for air, I am struck by what grief leaves in her wake: gratitude for the good that remains. My philosophy studies taught me how to ask questions more than they taught me how to find answers. My creative studies are teaching me how to ask better questions. I was trapped in why we suffer, now I am exploring how we love as we suffer. Grief and gratitude are often intertwined in my findings.

Through my chronic pain and chronic fatigue, I try to adhere to a daily gratitude practice. The muscle is weak, but the movement is growing. In this issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, I invite us to meditate on communal grief and communal gratitude. The infinite manifestations of our griefulness can find space here. A teacher once told me that we write out of the wound. Though the wound never fully heals, the wound always changes. I hope we move beyond the farce of individualism and into the power of collectivism. After all, as a beloved once reminded me, wounds are for community.

*****

Kapua Iao 5/21/24 Kapua Iao 5/21/24

The Thing I Needed but Didn’t Know Why I Needed It: Reflecting on the ELEVATE Issue

By Jennifer N. Shannon

When Yellow Arrow Publishing Editor-in-Chief, Kapua Iao, emailed me asking if I’d take on the role of guest editor for Yellow Arrow Journal’s spring 2024 issue (Vol. IX, No. 1), without much thought I said yes.

1)     Yes, because it was Yellow Arrow; I used to be on the board, and I have deep respect for the organization and its mission.
2)     It would allow me to be immersed in other people’s writing, given that my own writing had been stagnant.
3)     I’d be the guest editor for a literary journal . . . how many times would I get that chance? Of course, I said yes.

After I sent the Yellow Arrow team several possibilities, the theme that was chosen was ELEVATE. It was right up my alley. Elevate means “to raise or lift (something) up to a higher position,” which is what I had been trying to do in my life and career. There was no better time for me to explore the subject for myself, than through the lens of others.

Once the call for submissions went out, my immersion into other women’s work was busy and delightful. I read with a hunger I hadn’t had in a while. I was blown away by the talent I was witnessing and happy that I would be the one to make the final selections, and that I’d get to fulfill my vision for ELEVATE.

So much of what I was craving for myself I found in the words I read, the artwork I saw, and the collaborations with the Yellow Arrow readers, who were heads down, also reading and exploring the 181 submissions sent in. I was inspired to write and pursue my own dreams more wholly just as the women who sent in their work were doing. Even if writing wasn’t full time for them, I realized that it was the kind of elevation I was looking for: to hike a mountain and reach its summit, aka start a new venture called Creative Communion and make sure I get to the top.

I’ve refined my writing skills and reaffirmed several truths during my time as guest editor for Yellow Arrow Journal:

1)     I figured out how to meet deadlines even though my world already seemed overwhelmed with time constraints.
2)     I was reminded that putting in the work of sitting down and writing is what creates the space and energy for more writing, and more ideas.
3)     I realized that my intuition is still undefeated. Whenever I’ve trusted my gut over what others wanted or thought was best, things have always worked out better than imagined. The same is true for ELEVATE.

Becoming a guest editor and working on every aspect of the issue has done so much to move me forward while pushing me to take chances in my creative life. This experience was exactly what I needed to be doing to jump start my writing and to encourage me to create the things I want to see in the world.

I’m thankful to Yellow Arrow Publishing for this opportunity. I’m also grateful for the incredible women-identifying creatives who furnished the stories and artwork for this awesome issue. My hope is that everyone who reads ELEVATE will be inspired to pursue something more wholly, push fear out of the window and soar.

If you haven’t already got your copy, order ELEVATE at yellowarrowpublishing.com/store/yellow-arrow-journal-elevate-paperback. Thank you for supporting independent publishing.

Jennifer N. Shannon has published three books: Silent Teardrops; for the LOVE, short stories and poems, vol. 1; and for the LOVE, short stories and poems, vol. 2. Her poetry, short stories, photographs, and essays have been in an anthology and literary magazines, including North Dakota Quarterly, Yellow Arrow Journal, Deep South Magazine, Auburn Avenue, and others. Jennifer was a 2022 Baker Artist Awards finalist, a poetry fellow at the Watering Hole, and in 2023, she was selected as a Maryland State Arts Council Triennial Artist for Literary Arts. Jennifer is a proud South Carolinian and Gamecock who lives in Maryland with her son and fiancé. Visit jennifernshannon.com or follow her @writerjns on Instagram and Facebook.

*****

Kapua Iao 5/7/24 Kapua Iao 5/7/24

Life’s extraordinary moments: Yellow Arrow Journal (Vol. IX, No. 1) ELEVATE

But isn’t that how life is? Full of moments when we are so high that we are enjoying a different type of air, and others where we feel like we’re falling fast and furiously toward a diverted destination.

Jennifer N. Shannon, guest editor of just released Yellow Arrow Journal Vol. IX, No. 1 ELEVATE, is so thankful to the women-identifying writers who submitted to the issue and to those who joined the Yellow Arrow community by letting us include their pieces on our pages. She writes in the introduction to ELEVATE:

“From the poignant cover of ELEVATE to the brilliant words that adorn each page, this issue is like flying above the clouds, in a never-ending sky, over terrain that’s both foreign and familiar. Work that’s about overcoming and accepting where we are. Stories about loss and love. There are poems that allow us to be in the sky while we march here on the ground. And creative nonfiction that gives us permission to cry and proclaim that we are not afraid.”

We are excited to release the latest issue of Yellow Arrow Journal and happy to share the voices included within our ELEVATE issue. Paperback and PDF versions are now available from the Yellow Arrow bookstore. Discounts are also available (here) if you would like to purchase copies for friends and family (minimum purchase of five). You can also search for Yellow Arrow Journal on any e-book device or anywhere you purchase print and electronic books, including Amazon and most other distribution channels.

Jennifer N. Shannon has published three books: Silent Teardrops; for the LOVE, short stories and poems, vol. 1; and for the LOVE, short stories and poems, vol. 2. Her poetry, short stories, photographs, and essays have been in an anthology and literary magazines, including North Dakota Quarterly, Yellow Arrow Journal, Deep South Magazine, Auburn Avenue, and others. Jennifer was a 2022 Baker Artist Awards finalist, a poetry fellow at the Watering Hole, and in 2023, she was selected as a Maryland State Arts Council Triennial Artist for Literary Arts. Jennifer is a proud South Carolinian and Gamecock who lives in Maryland with her son and fiance. You can connect with Jennifer by visiting her website at jennifernshannon.com or follow her @writerjns on Instagram and Facebook.

The artwork on the cover (cover design by Alexa Laharty), “As I Am” by Lizzie Brown, was created of acrylic on canvas. According to Lizzie, her painting “depicts a woman embracing her flaws and scars, represented by a gold-filled crack down her back,” inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi. “As I Am” is an incredible “reminder that our imperfections make us beautiful, and our scars tell a story of what we’ve overcome.” Don’t forget to check out a conversation between Jennifer and Lizzie on the Yellow Arrow YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/AOSpTHqvs7k.

We hope you enjoy reading ELEVATE as much as we enjoyed creating it. Thank you for your continued encouragement of Yellow Arrow Publishing and the women involved in ELEVATE. On June 26 at 8:00 p.m., please join Jennifer, Yellow Arrow, and some of our contributors for the live, virtual reading of ELEVATE. More information is forthcoming.

*****

Kapua Iao 2/1/24 Kapua Iao 2/1/24

Yellow Arrow Journal (IX/01) ELEVATE Submissions are Now Open!

Yellow Arrow Publishing is excited to announce that submissions for our next issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. IX, No. 1 (spring 2024) is open February 1-29, providing a platform for authors to embrace and amplify their own voice. Guest editor, Jennifer N. Shannon, contemplates about her voice by reflecting on The Color Purple:

“I am proud of my becoming, as a mother and writer and friend and daughter and partner. I am also excited about the honesty I am searching for even when it’s scary. The Color Purple did that. The latest version of this masterpiece still does that for me. It makes me want to be brave, live in my truth, evolve into who I will become, and share my voice as loudly as I can. It makes me want to help other women do the same, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do just that, with my curatorial work and with Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. IX, No. 1.”

This issue’s theme is ELEVATE

: to improve morally, intellectually, or culturally
: to lift up or make higher
: to raise the spirits of

1. What story do you want to tell but haven’t found the words for? How will the story affect those who read or hear your truth? What will it do for you to share this story with the world?

2. What has guided you along your journey? What actions have elevated you? Are there any themes that show themselves to you repeatedly and if so what do you think they mean?

3. How are you moving forward in your writing, in your life, in your job, in your relationships, within your passion(s)? What is expanding and evolving you? Is your mindset growing? What scares you about your progression? What brings you joy? What’s stopping you?

Yellow Arrow Journal is looking for creative nonfiction, poetry, and cover art submissions by writers/artists who identify as women, on the theme of ELEVATE. Submissions can be in any language as long as an English translation accompanies it. For more information regarding journal submission guidelines, please visit yellowarrowpublishing.com/submissions. Please read our guidelines carefully before submitting. To learn more about our editorial views and how important your voice is in your story, read about the journal. This issue will be released in May 2024.

ELEVATE’s guest editor, Jennifer N. Shannon, has self-published three books: Silent Teardrops, for the LOVE, short stories and poems, vol. 1, and for the LOVE, short stories and poems, vol. 2. Her poetry, short stories, photographs, and essays have been in lit magazines such as North Dakota Quarterly, Yellow Arrow Journal, Deep South Magazine, Auburn Avenue, and others. In 2022, she curated the six-month artist exhibition “Black Joy Is My Protest,” which featured 12 artists from across the country and was showcased at Busboys and Poets in Baltimore. Jennifer was also a 2022 Baker Artist Awards finalist, a poetry fellow at The Watering Hole, and in 2023, she was selected as a Maryland State Arts Council Triennial Artist for Literary Arts. Jennifer is a proud South Carolinian and Gamecock who now lives in Maryland with her son and partner. Visit Jennifer’s website jennifernshannon.com or follow her @writerjns on Instagram and Facebook. Jennifer previously served on the Yellow Arrow board as marketing director and her poem “We Smile” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal RENASCENCE (Vol. VI, No. 1). We are excited to work with Jennifer over the next few months.

*****

Kapua Iao 1/16/24 Kapua Iao 1/16/24

The Color Purple: Still Evolving After 40 Years

Yellow Arrow Publishing would like to announce the next guest editor for Yellow Arrow Journal, Jennifer N. Shannon. Jennifer will oversee the creation of our Vol. IX, No. 1 issue.

This next issue of Yellow Arrow Journal gives creatives who identify as women the opportunity to be their authentic selves by exploring and embracing their voices within its pages. With this issue, we want our authors to reach higher — move forward — live proudly. To learn more about this idea, read Jennifer’s words below. Mark your calendar! The theme will be released next week. Submissions open February 1 and the issue will be released in May.

Jennifer N. Shannon has self-published three books: Silent Teardrops, for the LOVE, short stories and poems, vol. 1, and for the LOVE, short stories and poems, vol. 2. Her poetry, short stories, photographs, and essays have been in lit magazines such as North Dakota Quarterly, Yellow Arrow Journal, Deep South Magazine, Auburn Avenue, and others. In 2022, she curated the six-month artist exhibition “Black Joy Is My Protest,” which featured 12 artists from across the country and was showcased at Busboys and Poets in Baltimore. Jennifer was also a 2022 Baker Artist Awards finalist, a poetry fellow at The Watering Hole, and in 2023, she was selected as a Maryland State Arts Council Triennial Artist for Literary Arts. Jennifer is a proud South Carolinian and Gamecock who now lives in Maryland with her son and partner. Visit Jennifer’s website jennifernshannon.com or follow her @writerjns on Instagram and Facebook. Jennifer previously served on the Yellow Arrow board as marketing director and her poem “We Smile” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal RENASCENCE (Vol. VI, No. 1).

Please follow Yellow Arrow on Facebook and Instagram for the theme announcement. Below, you can read more about Jennifer’s perspective on the importance of amplifying one’s own voice. We look forward to (re)working with Jennifer over the next few months.

By Jennifer N. Shannon

I recently started reading the beautiful hardcover book Purple Rising: Celebrating 40 Years of the Magic, Power, and Artistry of The Color Purple. It’s about The Color Purple, a book written by Alice Walker who won a Pulitzer Prize for her work. Purple Rising celebrates The Color Purple’s 40-year journey from the written piece to the 1985 film, its reinvention as a musical on Broadway, and finally to its latest transformation as a musical movie.

There is so much about Purple Rising that I already love . . . finding out more about Alice Walker’s motivation for writing what is one of my favorite books (the 1985 film is also a favorite), the photographs that span decades and capture the evolution of each iteration of The Color Purple, and the paths of all who have been involved in the various projects.

“If it is true that it is what we run from that chases us, then The Color Purple (this color that is always a surprise but is everywhere in nature) is the book that ran me down while I sat with my back to it in a field.” – Alice Walker, preface to the 1992 edition

In 2021, I gave birth to a baby boy. Nothing could prepare me for the bevy of emotions I’ve felt since that moment. I’ve doubted myself as a mother and questioned who I was becoming as a woman. Not to mention feeling as though I had lost my voice as a writer and poet. That has been one of the most difficult things about transitioning into motherhood; the losses I’ve felt even though I have gained so much. However, the process of rediscovering who I am at this moment, during this time, has brought me to hidden places. Watching my son’s curiosity, his zest for all things “Christmas,” such as Elmo and Tango’s Nutcracker, and his fearlessness, pushes me to be more fearless in my writing. To explore my entrance into this world, my family history, and the stories that I’ve been reliving in my head—real and imagined. As I journey through my past, there is a reckoning that’s happening which is making me face what has been chasing me.

“I was dealing with some skeletons in the closet in the family, wanting to bring light to very murky corners.” – Alice Walker from Purple Rising

My paternal grandmother was physically abused by her husband for 30 years. Many years ago, she told me about it, matter-of-factly, as I sat with all the wonder in the world at how she survived and why she didn’t leave sooner. Although I didn’t realize this before, in many ways she was Celie from The Color Purple. And like Celie, she found her way out of that marriage and forged ahead making a life for herself. She wasn’t bitter and she’s still one of the nicest people I have ever met.

The Color Purple is a revelation of what women, Black women, have been experiencing since forever. It is an example of what it is to be courageous—to bellow out for the world to hear. Back when it was first published, it brought to light so much about women’s concerns, abuse, mistreatment, and beauty while showcasing love and tenderness. That’s what makes it timeless and inspiring. It is gentle but harsh, truthful yet fictitious. It is the epitome of vulnerability. And it is an example of the type of writer and artist I aspire to be.

I am proud of my becoming, as a mother and writer and friend and daughter and partner. I am also excited about the honesty I am searching for even when it’s scary. The Color Purple did that. The latest version of this masterpiece still does that for me. It makes me want to be brave, live in my truth, evolve into who I will become, and share my voice as loudly as I can. It makes me want to help other women do the same, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do just that, with my curatorial work and with Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. IX, No. 1.

*****

Kapua Iao 11/21/23 Kapua Iao 11/21/23

Emblazoned with Love: Reflecting on the EMBLAZON Issue

By Leticia Priebe Rocha

I stumbled upon Yellow Arrow Journal as a writer submitting my work. I officially joined the Yellow Arrow family when my poem “Lost In” was selected for the PEREGRINE (Vol. VII, No. 2) issue. A few months later, I was featured on the March 2023 edition of the .Writers.on.Writing. series. Then, in the early warmth of June where everyone starts coming alive, I was asked to be guest editor for Yellow Arrow Journal’s fall 2023 issue. I was equal parts thrilled and confused. I knew nothing about editing a journal. I had only ever been on the writer’s side of things—a constant stream of rejections interrupted briefly by acceptances at merciful intervals. Despite my initial doubts, excitement won out as I pondered the possibilities of a theme that would do the incredible mission of Yellow Arrow justice.

This opportunity came at a point in my life where I often found myself meditating on the self, all the versions of myself and what I had lived that created them. I could easily identify big catalysts, like my family’s migration from Brazil. What truly interested me, though, was digging deeper into those catalysts and beyond to find the parts of a whole, all the fleeting moments that make up a life. Being overcome with wonder at the waterfalls near Santo Antonio do Pinhal. Witnessing my baby sister sit up and sway to the theme music of a novela on the TV for the first time. Hugging a dear friend when he gifted me a graduation stole with the Brazilian flag on it. Watching a lover make us mouthwateringly perfect banana walnut pancakes to the tunes of Grant Green. A myriad of ephemeral instants colored with people, places, images, and sensations that are irrevocably inscribed into my being—this is how EMBLAZON emerged.

It was a daunting task to capture the entire spectrum of the human experience in a single journal issue. As I began working alongside the amazing Yellow Arrow team to mold EMBLAZON into all its glory, my fledgling fears dissipated entirely. It was profoundly heartening to see the level of care that was invested at each step of the process by every member of the team. I knew that as long as I treated every submission with that same level of care, EMBLAZON would take the shape it was meant to. One of the most important lessons I learned during this process was that when an editor tells you they had to make very difficult and incredibly subjective decisions, they are not simply trying to spare writerly feelings—it’s the truth!

In the issue’s introduction, I describe every piece in EMBLAZON as a testament to writing as an act of love. I struggle to find the words to articulate what an honor it has been to be let into such vulnerable and quintessentially human expressions of love and aliveness. EMBLAZON opens with Alli Tervo’s gorgeous “The Field,” its last line “Love is to stand in the sun where the risk is” echoing throughout the issue as it takes us through a journey of the most precious aspects of living. There are vividly tender celebrations of the people and places that raised us, like in Sarah Josephine Pennington’s “Myths and Lore”: “The feel of that hateful winter with its insistence on freezing, the snow piling in drifts against the river rock my daddy had pulled from the lake and mason’d onto the house, stays engraved into my bones, a permanent mark saying this is who and where yer from.”

The poet in me simply could not shy away from depictions of the transformative power of romantic love, like in Emma Conlon’s “GENESIS: revision”: “two fallen angels laughing as we slipped / from the precipice, a silver moon of sky / on the eve of our damnation / I’ve never felt closer to heaven.” EMBLAZON is also a monument to resilience and the journey toward one’s most radiant self, exemplified perfectly in Elizabeth Birch’s “Bloom”: “It may take [a cactus] forty years to bloom a flower. / I’m in my mid-thirties now. The New England sky is gray, / but I’m pointed toward the sun, waiting.”

The issue closes with K.S. Palakovic’s stunning “If I had two hours to live,” the piece’s last line encapsulating what we all strive to make of the brief time we have in this life: “and it would be enough.” I am ardently proud of EMBLAZON, our contributors, and the Yellow Arrow team. Above all, I am deeply grateful for the gift of leading the curation of such a glowing tribute to the transient nature of our time on this earth. If you haven’t snagged your copy of EMBLAZON, I sincerely hope you do. It is so incredibly special to encounter a collection of work that not only moves and inspires but radiates love. May this love be emblazoned (I couldn’t resist . . .) in your life and memory.

Paperback and PDF versions are available from the Yellow Arrow bookstore. Discounts are also available (here) if you would like to purchase copies for friends and family (minimum purchase of five). You can also search for Yellow Arrow Journal on any e-book device or anywhere you purchase books, including Amazon and most other distribution channels.

I will see you all alongside many of our phenomenal contributors on November 29 at 8:00 p.m. EST for the official EMBLAZON reading! Find out more information at yellowarrowpublishing.com/calendar/emblazon-live-reading. Let us know you will join us at fb.me/e/14zRYBxCi.

Leticia Priebe Rocha earned her bachelor’s from Tufts University, where she was awarded the 2020 Academy of American Poets University & College Poetry Prize. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, she immigrated to Miami, Florida, at the age of nine and currently resides in the Greater Boston area. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Salamander, Rattle, Pigeon Pages, Protean Magazine, and elsewhere.

*****

Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. You can support us as we SPARK and sparkle this year: purchase one of our publications from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, join our newsletter, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 65185, Baltimore, Maryland 21209). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.

Kapua Iao 11/7/23 Kapua Iao 11/7/23

Emblazing a Path of Love: Yellow Arrow Journal (Vol. VIII, No. 2) EMBLAZON

It is with . . . love that I strive to move about the world.

According to Leticia Priebe Rocha, guest editor of just released Yellow Arrow Journal Vol. VIII, No. 2 EMBLAZON, the pieces within this issue are steeped in love. Love for the people that adorn our lives as family, lovers, friends, and strangers. For the land that cradles our bodies. For the places and moments that inevitably carve themselves into our essences. For the self, ever reaching for radiance. For aliveness, and beyond. They explore those fleeting moments in life that anchor the human experience and make us who we are.

And with that beautiful thought, we are excited to release the latest issue of Yellow Arrow Journal and privileged to share the voices included within our EMBLAZON issue. Paperback and PDF versions are now available from the Yellow Arrow bookstore. Discounts are also available (here) if you would like to purchase copies for friends and family (minimum purchase of five). You can also search for Yellow Arrow Journal on any e-book device or anywhere you purchase print and electronic books, including Amazon and most other distribution channels.

The artwork on the cover (cover design by Alexa Laharty), “Cycles” by Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo, was created of acrylic, ink, and glitter on wood. “Cycle” serves to emblazon the interconnectedness of natural life and the place of humanity within the rest of nature. We are part of the cycles of life and nature and should strive to take our place as part of the balanced natural systems—giving as much as we take to the survival of all our sibling life forms on earth.

We hope you enjoy reading EMBLAZON as much as we enjoyed creating it. Thank you for your continued encouragement of Yellow Arrow Publishing and the women involved in EMBLAZON. On November 29 at 8:00 pm EST, please join Leticia, Yellow Arrow, and some of our contributors for the live, virtual reading of EMBLAZON. More information is forthcoming.

*****

Kapua Iao 8/1/23 Kapua Iao 8/1/23

Yellow Arrow Journal (VIII/02) EMBLAZON Submissions are Now Open!

Yellow Arrow Publishing is excited to announce that submissions for our next issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. VIII, No. 2 (fall 2023) is open August 1–31 exploring the power and ephemerality of life’s fleeting moments. Guest editor Leticia Priebe Rocha states,

“As we navigate the turmoil of daily life and the heaviness of what lies beyond our control, it takes an intentional effort to nurture [life’s fleeting] moments into existence and to sustain the life they bring us. For me, this effort is often driven by introspection: What makes you feel alive? What connections have shaped your being? How do you tap into the well of love and hope within you? The act of creation through poetry and art has been a blessing toward answering these questions, empowering me with an openness to receive the ephemeral and inscribe it not only in memory but on the page.”

This issue’s theme will be EMBLAZON

: to conspicuously inscribe or display
: to depict (a heraldic device) on something
: to celebrate or extol publicly

And here are some questions to consider when choosing or writing for this issue:

What are the experiences that inscribed themselves onto your being and made you who are? Who are the people who adorn your life? Whose lives do you adorn in return? What are the places and contexts that you inevitably herald in all of your interactions?
Of the ephemeral instants that have embellished your existence, what marks and stays with you? What are the sensations, emotions, and images that anchor you in your own aliveness?
What is your relationship with time? How do you view its nature, particularly in relation to the fleeting moments that make up the human experience?
What are the sparks that you strive to ignite during your time on this Earth? How do you hope to illuminate the world when your time comes to an end?

Yellow Arrow Journal is looking for creative nonfiction, poetry, and cover art submissions by writers/artists who identify as women, on the theme of EMBLAZON. Submissions can be in any language as long as an English translation accompanies it. For more information regarding journal submission guidelines, please visit yellowarrowpublishing.com/submissions. Please read our guidelines carefully before submitting. To learn more about our editorial views and how important your voice is in your story, read About the Journal. This issue will be released in November 2023.

EMBLAZON’s guest editor, Leticia Priebe Rocha, earned her bachelor’s from Tufts University, where she was awarded the 2020 Academy of American Poets University and College Poetry Prize. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, she immigrated to Miami, Florida, at the age of nine and currently resides in the Greater Boston area. For more information, visit her website at leticiaprieberocha.com. Leticia’s poem “Lost In” was part of Yellow Arrow Journal PEREGRINE, and she was our .W.o.W. #46 (March 2023). We are excited to work with Leticia over the next few months.

The journal is just one of many ways that Yellow Arrow Publishing works to support and inspire women through publication and access to the literary arts. Since its founding in 2016, Yellow Arrow has worked tirelessly to make an impact on the local and global community by advocating for writers who identify as women. Yellow Arrow proudly represents the voices of women from around the globe. Creating diversity in the literary world and providing a safe space is deeply important. Every writer has a story to tell, every story is worth telling.

*****

Kapua Iao 7/18/23 Kapua Iao 7/18/23

Embracing the Ephemeral Nature of the Human Experience

Yellow Arrow Publishing would like to announce the next guest editor for Yellow Arrow Journal, Leticia Priebe Rocha. Leticia will oversee the creation of our Vol. VIII, No. 2 issue.

This next issue of Yellow Arrow Journal will explore the fleeting moments in life that anchor the human experience. Think about the flash after a spark is lit, before a fire burns big and bright . . . the flashes, the sparks, are ephemeral, just like life’s fleeting moments. They make us who we are. To learn more about this idea, read Leticia’s words below. And mark your calendars: the theme will be announced next week, submissions open August 1, and the issue will be released in November.

Leticia earned her bachelor’s from Tufts University, where she was awarded the 2020 Academy of American Poets University and College Poetry Prize. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, she immigrated to Miami, Florida, at the age of nine and currently resides in the Greater Boston area. For more information, visit her website at leticiaprieberocha.com. Leticia’s poem “Lost In” was part of Yellow Arrow Journal PEREGRINE, and she was our .W.o.W. #46 (March 2023).

Please follow Yellow Arrow on Facebook and Instagram for the theme and submissions announcement. Below, you can read more about Leticia’s perspectives on the ephemerality if life. We look forward to working with Leticia over the next few months.

By Leticia Priebe Rocha

“Nothing is more difficult than surrendering to the instant.”
Clarice Lispector

I was born in the fourth most populous city in the world, São Paulo, Brazil—a beautiful, bustling place rich in culture and architecture. I have few but precious memories of the grand metropolis that raised me. The São Paulo Museum of Art, for example, fostered a lifelong love of art museums that compels me to add these institutions to my itinerary in any place I travel, no matter how brief my stay.

A particular memory that I have held dear since I was seven years old unfolded a few hours away from my city, in the countryside town of Santo Antonio do Pinhal. My little family (mom, dad, baby sister who was a few months old) and I were spending a weekend in the midst of greenery and waterfalls, a lushness that is profuse in many regions of Brazil. As we were winding down for bed on our first night there, my mom called me to step outside with her for a minute. I was struck immediately by the symphony of crickets that enveloped us, my body blanketed in an awe intensified as I looked up and witnessed the unwavering glow of the cosmos pulsing above in every direction. The sheer abundance of stars unknown in my typical urban setting cradled my seven-year-old frame with an acute awareness of my own smallness for the first time. It was at once terrifying and thrilling—I felt myself blossoming alongside the universe, an inseverable connection that I ground myself in to this day.

A few years later, when I was nine years old, we immigrated to another major city, this one on an entirely different continent—Miami, Florida, United States of America. I remember nothing of packing decades of my parent’s lives or my sister and I’s brief time on Earth in a few suitcases. I have no recollection of stepping onto the plane that would bring us to a new reality, and inevitably, new versions of ourselves. The only piece of the journey that I remember is walking through Miami International Airport and being entirely dazzled by the sky visible outside. There was not a cloud in sight, only a blueness punctuated by the relentless sunlight that is signature to Miami in the middle of June. A fleeting image that I still carry with me as a remnant of the child that I was and a beacon of who I would become.

I spent nearly a decade in Miami before parting ways with my first home in this country. I landed in Medford, Massachusetts, to attend university and stuck around ever since. I often joke that I knew Massachusetts was my new home when I flew to a conference in San Francisco and my primary preoccupation while getting off the plane was where I could find the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts (the answer was a definitive “not on every street corner” like you’d find in Boston). It was in an Uber navigating the streets of Boston at 2:00 a.m. that I realized I was in love for the first time. I had just said goodbye to my beloved, the feeling of being held like their one and only anchor to this world lingering over me as I hopped in the car. As I greeted the driver, Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” started playing on the radio, a gorgeous sonic accompaniment to the surrender of my heart. Though I had no certainty of what would come next, a door had been unlocked inside me to a fundamental, profoundly, and exquisitely human experience.

The fleeting moments I described here are inextricable from the person I am today, each instant a spark in forging the fire of the self. As we navigate the turmoil of daily life and the heaviness of what lies beyond our control, it takes an intentional effort to nurture these moments into existence and to sustain the life they bring us. For me, this effort is often driven by introspection: What makes you feel alive? What connections have shaped your being? How do you tap into the well of love and hope within you? The act of creation through poetry and art has been a blessing toward answering these questions, empowering me with an openness to receive the ephemeral and inscribe it not only in memory but on the page.

As Clarice Lispector so eloquently put it, “Nothing is more difficult than surrendering to the instant. That difficulty is human pain. It is ours. I surrender in words and surrender when I paint.” Being alive is a messy, heartbreaking, and beautiful thing. I hold a deep gratitude for the people and places that have inscribed themselves into my essence and for every moment of grace that has granted me the space to grow into myself. I cherish the thought that I have done the same for others in this existence where we are so deeply entangled. May we all find the strength to embrace the transience of this life and adorn the world with sparks far beyond our time here.

*****

Thank you, Leticia, for your beautiful words. Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. You can support us as we SPARK and sparkle this year: purchase one of our publications from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, join our newsletter, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 65185, Baltimore, Maryland 21209). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.