Farewell to a Friend: R.I.P. Liminality

           On April 1, 2021, a tweet appeared on the account of the speculative-poetry publisher Liminality that, unfortunately, wasn't an April Fool's joke: They were opening up for a new submission period, and it was going to be their last. In case you're unfamiliar with the magazine and wondering just what the hell Liminality's about, this excerpt from their submission guidelines probably explains it better than I can:

          "In anthropological terms, liminality is the midpoint of a ritual: the threshold where a person is no longer quite who they were, not yet who they might become. In between masks, what face might you have? What might you be in transit? Where will you go? Everything is possible in that moment; change is its own goal. Liminality is the space between.... We are looking for speculative literary poems that touch the heart as much as the head; poems of the liminal, the fluid, and the fantastic. We love seeing work that shifts shape, refuses to be to be easily pinned down or categorised."

         Finding out that the next issue would be their last really hit me hard. I've had six poems published in four previous issues ("Fallen But Not Down" in Summer 2019, "Homecoming" in Spring 2020, "Carousel" and "Learning the Way" in Autumn 2020, and "Cartography" and "A Frozen Heart" in Winter 2020), and both of my poems that have gotten nominated for Rhysling Awards were first published there, "Fallen But Not Down" in 2020 and "Learning the Way" in 2021. Besides the obvious perk of getting more exposure for my work, being published in Liminality was great for a whole host of other reasons. Unlike many other poetry journals and websites which pay a pittance for an author's work, or don't bother to pay at all, writers whose work was accepted for the magazine got a sweet ten bucks per poem, which I know I was mighty damn grateful for every time they came my way. Shira and Mattie, the co-founders and -editors, were professional, courteous, and kind, which I was even more grateful for. Every time I emailed Shira with a question or concern they responded right away, with a friendliness and understanding of my situation not every writer is always lucky enough to get from their editor/publisher and which I'll always look back on fondly. I've enjoyed getting to work with them, and I only wish that I'd gotten to do it more often and could continue to do so. 

          It's also been awesome seeing the other great work they've found and helped get into the world over their twenty-seven previous issues; while the realm of speculative poetry is slowly growing, it's still not as mainstream as more, well, mainstream work, and so when a place like Liminality comes along to give more poets and poems the home and attention they deserve, it's something to be celebrated, and to be missed when they leave us. Goodbye, Liminality. Thanks again for the good times (and the good poetry), and good luck, Shira and Mattie, in whatever you do next. I can't wait to see what it is.

          Postscript: Liminality's final issue was published today, and I'm so glad and grateful my poem "Beckoning" gets to be a part of it. If you want to check out Issue 28, Summer 2021, for yourself, or go back through the archived issues, you can find them on Liminality's website. Enjoy!