“I use the same approach on all works, whether poetry or prose: I tacitly assume that the first fifty ways I try it are going to be wrong…” — James Dickey

If the writers featured in the spring 2009 edition of SHARK REEF didn’t write fifty drafts of their work, at least they kept at it until their work shone like polished stones. As you read these offerings, you’ll notice, says, issue co-editor Jill McCabe Johnson, that:

“These writers all share an eye for the small details that bring writing to life. From idle observations at a ferry landing to the thoughts that surface when we try to sleep; from a young woman’s unhappy visit to a radiologist’s office to the sensation of floating after a strong dive; from bumble bees to a hilarious tale of chickens as weapons; and the musings of a self-described middle-aged woman in the throes of a new love affair – with Montana and fly fishing… all these stories and poems bring welcome light after the long winter.”

Johnson, executive director of Artsmith, a non-profit to support the arts, has had poetry and prose featured in Arnazella, A River & Sound Review, and the 2006 Northwest Renaissance Poetry anthology. She also is a winner of the Whidbey Writers Workshop award, and a recipient of the Deborah Tall Memorial Fellowship.

In this issue, you’ll find fiction from Sharon Wooten and Lindy Reese, memoir from Ann Bodle Nash, drama from Lynn Aliya and poems from Oak Boesky, Lisa Lawrence, MollyBee Welkin and Janet Yang. Our featured visual artist is Susan Slapin. Wooten is our first-ever Shaw Island writer; Nash and Yang are from Lopez; Welkin and Slapin from Orcas Island; Boesky and Lawrence from San Juan; and Aliya and Reese are occasional visitors to the San Juans. All of these artists have found and polished their tales.

Please read, enjoy and send us your work!

Write on!