Introduction by Susan Terris
Sometimes a working committee produces the equivalent of a wildebeest, something ungainly and the result of too many shortcuts or hasty compromises. Over the past 6 years, Arlene Ang, Michael Spring, our editor-publisher John Amen, and I have learned to work together and manage to produce an issue of Pedestal, which is strong and beautiful to behold and to read.
So how do the four of us work together so smoothly from wildly separated places? (Note: I have never met John, Michael, or Arlene in person.) We do it because we have developed respect for one another, a trust in judgment. We have learned to make compromises out of strength, ones which reflect the intelligence of our process.
Why am I writing about the suppleness of our editorial process instead of referring to the poems we’ve selected for this issue? Because our world seems so dangerous these days. Because I wish political parties and nations could learn to work together with the kind of respect and intelligence that the four of us have learned to do.
May 2018 be a better year for us all!
—Susan Terris
