The Open Issue
Welcome to CV2’s annual Open Issue! As its title suggests, this issue offers us the opportunity to share all kinds of poetic styles and themes with you. In this season of opening and reawakening, the issue also feels perfectly timed. The poetry nestled within these pages is equal parts tender and tough, heartbreaking and healing, play- ful and profound. These writers approach difficult experiences with openness and honesty, and we are so grateful to them for sharing their words.
Juliana Rupchan’s opening poem writes colour onto the page in a beautiful and evocative way, recounting “the way the pink light falls over everything.” Farah Ghafoor puts into words what so many long for: “A life without thirsting always / for tomorrow.” Michelle Lin eloquently uses food as metaphor, prompting the reader to “Look at how we make / delicacies out of scraps.” Also included in this issue are stunning new works by Dallas Hunt, Lauren Turner, Simone Person, and many more.
We wrap up the poetry component of the issue with the winner and honourable mentions from CV2’s 2021 Foster Poetry Prize, a contest for emerging writers of all ages. Yilin Wang’s winning poem, “Moving, Again,” addresses displacement, dispossession, and “the healing of wounds / the weaving of relations.” We were incredibly moved when Yilin donated her $1,000 prize to Unist’ot’en Camp in sup- port of Indigenous land defenders protecting Wet’suwet’en land. Inspired by this thoughtful decision, the CV2 staff made their own donations to Unist’ot’en Camp to accompany Yilin’s.
Last but never least, we end our beloved Open Issue with reviews of two recent collections we’re excited about: Nisha Patel’s Coconut, reviewed by Manahil Bandukwala, and Diana Hope Tegenkamp’s Girl running, reviewed by Elena Bentley.
May this issue bring you warmth on a chilly summer’s night and solace after a long or difficult day. May it keep you company during a coffee break, a hammock hang, or a road trip. May it remind us all “there is no shame in needing.”
Happy reading and happy summer!