Sam RasnakeObsession is, as you will read and view, a great field for the writers and artists of the Spring Supplement Issue. I'm pleased to showcase the works of these contributors, new to the pages of Blue Fifth Review: Oswald LeWinter, Aimea Saul, Eileen Tabios, Doug Beasley, P.J. Nights, Ann Lederer, Joel Chace, Arlene Ang, Jessy Randall, Claire Fuqua, and Bob Bradshaw.
Familiar to these pages, and a welcome addition, are Hudspith, Marcus, Alfier, Stant, Potos, and Shafee.
While revisiting Poet's Choice, a wonderful book by Robert Hass that he describes as "a notebook of a poet's readings," I reread these powerful lines, reflecting my personal view of obsession, from an untitled poem by Susan Stewart:We needed fire to make
the tongs and tongs to hold
us from the flame; we needed
ash to clean the cloth
and cloth to clean the ash’s
stain; we needed stars
to find our way, to make
the light that blurred the stars;
we needed death to mark
an end, an end that time
in time would mend.
Born in love, the consequence—
born of love, the need.
Tell me, ravaged singer,
how the cinder bears the seed.
May you, with this read, find your own rewarding way.
Current Issue - Spring Supplement 2004