HERE WAS A POINT DURING THE EDITING OF THIS ISSUE’S special section on inspiration when, I must admit, I felt a little overwhelmed by the veritable sea of ideas flooding my e-mail inbox each day, as contributors responded to my invitation to; there was Hanif Abdurraqib describing the Prince poster above his writing desk, his records on a shelf behind him. And Nadia Alexis putting Tommy Kha’s haunting photograph into words. Or Xan Phillips capturing the optic syntax of Harmony Hammond’s painting . And then this year’s group of debut poets piled on with assorted sources of inspiration: Maya Salameh’s bugs in the corners of wooden sheds, Shelley Wong’s sequins, John Belk’s pro wrestlers. My eyes, my mind, awash with media of various forms and functions. “You want inspiration?” the authors seemed to be singing in unison. “We’ll give you inspiration!” Every day a new delight. I take a deep breath.
