Weaving Curiosity and Creativity: Yellow Arrow Journal (Vol. XI, No. 1), WONDER

‍ ‍I am safe

in the cocoon I’ve grown from my own sweet skin,

carrying scars like a thrash

of poison ivy—

“A Close and Ugly Thing” by Samantha J. Pomerantz

WONDER, the just-released issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. XI, No. 1, guest edited by Heather Brown Barret, explores the interplay between curiosity and creativity and how it informs discovery in the personal creative process and encourages artistry and fulfillment for women-identifying writers. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the team, the authors, and the cover artist on this issue, and privileged to be able to share it (and them) with you. Heather says about the creatives and their work within and on the cover of the issue, “Their rich interiorities surface. Each intriguing piece sings with the strength of voice, and the whole is a brilliant chorus. . . . I’m honored to witness the talent and resilience of our WONDER authors and to share this collection with you.”

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 2026 issues are also available from our bookstore.

Heather Brown Barrett is an award-winning poet in southeastern Virginia. She mothers her young son and contemplates life, the universe, and everything with her writer husband. She is a Cherokee Nation citizen, the membership chair of The Poetry Society of Virginia, a member of The Muse Writers Center, and a former board member of Hampton Roads Writers. Much of her work is influenced by themes and dualities of motherhood, modes of forgiveness and grace, and the types of subjects that plague most poets, like death, grocery stores, and birds. She’s the author of Water in Every Room (Kelsay Books, 2025), a collection of poems embodying the fluctuations of emotion and form in new motherhood.

WONDER features Rebecca A. Adelman, Clara Akagi, Malaika King Albrecht, Elizabeth Birch, Ute Carson, Roxanne Christiana, Erin Edinger, Johanna Elattar, Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt, Rozalija Grace, Erica Monique Graham, Maya Klauber, Annie Rachele Lanzillotto, Elsie SQ LEE, Lynda Madison, Cheryl Martone, Amelia Napiorkowski, Diane Wilbon Parks, Emily Patterson, Mandira Pattnaik, Kathryn Petruccelli, Samantha J. Pomerantz, Argelia Salmon, Ciana Socias, Bethany Tap, Dana Trick, Jody Wallace, and Tanya K. Young.

The cover art is called Twin Heathers and was created by Anita Grace Brown. You can learn more about Anita in a recent Q&A at yellowarrowpublishing.com/news/spotlight-anita-grace-brown-yaj-wonder.

A huge thanks to the Yellow Arrow team for helping to shape this issue: guest Heather Brown Barrett, creative director Alexa Laharty, and executive director Annie Marhefka, along with the WONDER editorial team, Sydney Alexander,Camille Leah (Cam) Barrón, Rita Collins, Arrieonna Derricoatte, Jill Earl, Jen M. Eyre, Barbara Frey, Meg Gamble, Kapua Iao, Acacia Markel Justice, Siobhan McKenna, Sara Palmer, Mickey Revenaugh, Nicky Ruddell, Mel Silberger, and Taylor Trotta.

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

*****

Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women-identifying writers through publication and access to the literary arts. You can support us as we LUMINATE 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.