From the Editor

"Maybe he's caught in the legend.
Maybe he's caught in the mood.
Maybe these maps and legends
have been misunderstood.

O.K. It isn't exactly poetry, perhaps not even remotely poetic. Some people quote Shakespeare, others are more inclined (and capable) of quoting 80's progressive rock bands (in the above case, REM). In an age where pop culture simplicity and simplemindedness predominate, real poetry—that which either pushes the envelope of language and meaning, calls into question the ordinary and the emotional, or in the rarest cases, accomplishes both of these objectives—still exists. And this, our special all-poetry issue, celebrates both the effort and the accomplishment. In varied styles and with diverse subject matter, the poems of Bowes, Ceraolo, Compton, Eisner, Langworthy, Rantala and Skoog are a genuine pleasure to read. Meanwhile, in our feature interview, acclaimed poet Marie Ponsot aptly reminds us of the continued need for more poetic words in our modern world. And lest we forget about another artistic first for failbetter.com—a rather poetic photo essay, honky-tonk style—by Rachel Newton and Mitch Baranowski.

All of this we offer to you, fair reader... So, read thee well.

TD

In addendum... Though each issue is a group effort, I would be remiss not to thank Meghan Cleary, failbetter.com editorial consultant, who went far beyond her vaguely-defined duties to land us our feature interview with Marie Ponsot. In the past, we've been extremely fortunate with the writers we've managed to interview, and failbetter is grateful to Meghan for furthering such quality literary conversation. Thank you, Meghan.