Welcome to the 22nd Issue of Waccamaw,

This year, the water snaked its way in diamond coats to new places—reached in and pulled us out of where we thought we belonged. Now, we root ourselves in blooms of old blood, return birthmarks and all to the wild Atlantic. We recraft ourselves from jaw bones, not rib bones. We have learned, again, softness in our hardness and hardness in our softness. We now know what art can do when all we feel like is rocks ground down.

We offer to you our hope that this issue sleeps child-like within your skull, that it explodes neon with galaxies, pixels, minnows, and magic.

We are thankful for the dark and formless, the light and overgrown, and even our own miscalculations.

May we swim sloppy through this rainy season with rivered throats and blue, regrown veins. May we fall, fly up, and roar again. May we always glow with knowledge.

Love,

The Waccamites

Issue 22

Editors – Jessica Lee Richardson, Sadie Shuck Hinkel, & Alisa Alice
Co-Managing Editors – Madison Rahner & Rob Sperduto
Copy Editor – Rose Pleasant
Design Editor – Parag Desai
Fiction Editors – Jeremy Griffin & Haleigh Woodlief
Nonfiction Editor – Colin Burch & Joujou Safa
Poetry Editor – Brittany Atkinson
Special Projects Manager – Kayla Jessop