Dear RWW students, alums, and faculty,

Think back. Some of you will recall an exercise from visiting poet Jane Wong’s morning presentation at the summer residency. As per Jane’s prompt, we each locked eyes with a person sitting near us. One of us then wrote a question, while the other wrote a statement. We worked independently and then brought our sentences together to make a two-line poem.

Several of you shared your question-and-statement poems with the folks here at Soundings. They offer wisdom, left-turns, and serendipity.

Which food, however you define food, nourishes and fulfills you?
“Language is an act with consequences.” (a Toni Morrison quotation)

Where did you get those cool pants?
It seems like good weather for mangos.

Where do the birds go to sleep?
We are going there.

What is it you want to say?
The heat continues to rise.

Jane offered this exercise during a wonderful panel, which we revisit in this issue. Oliver de la Paz, Barrie Jean Borich, Sequoia Nagamatsu, Geffrey Davis, and Jane Wong offer perspectives on the literary workshop and larger ideas about pedagogy. Together, they show us how the workshop is adapting to be more generous and equitable. Our new Contributing Writer, Hannah D. Markley, interviews new faculty member Brian Teare in a conversation that highlights the importance of both place and care. We also look back to the summer residency through a collection of photos. And as we do in each issue, we celebrate our community’s literary work with Publications, Announcements, Opportunities, and Literary Citizenship.

Fall is a time of transition at Soundings, and many of us are settling into new roles. We welcome antmen pimentel mendoza as the new Assistant Editor. I’ll be Editor for this next year, and I am very thankful to Hannah D. Markley, Sydney Elliott, and Garrett Brooks for their guidance and grace. Thanks, also, to each of you for your readership and support of Soundings and of the larger RWW community.

Please enjoy this autumn issue―both the questions it asks and the answers it offers.

—Elissa Favero