These past two years and three months, since May 2017, have been a special period in my life that I hadn’t expected to experience. During my tenure as poetry editor, it has been my honor to share this labor of love with a group of editors who go way beyond the expectations readers may have of a group of volunteers. Yes, Streetlight Magazine, like so many literary magazines, is produced by a 100% volunteer staff who are dedicated to not only publishing a good looking, accessible lit mag, but to growing the website and its content with sustainability in mind.

In a few days, I will step down as poetry editor at Streetlight Magazine in order to work on my own ongoing writing projects, and hand the wand to two extraordinary and enthusiastic poets we have been proud to publish in Streetlight, and who have already dedicated many hours to reading submissions and getting to know the machinations of publishing an online literary magazine. Frederick Wilbur and Sharon Ackerman will officially become Poetry Co-editors at Streetlight Magazine this week. Their short bios and photos are found below.

I am nothing but grateful to our leader and administrator, Trudy Dean Hale, and to editors: Susan Shafarzek, (Essay/Memoir) , Elizabeth Howard, (Art), Erika Raskin (Fiction), Jennifer Sims(Podcast), Emily Littlewood (Copy Editor and technical assistant), and to Megan Denblaker (our Content Manager intern) for their support and help. Additional thanks to our previous tech editor, Spriggan Radfae, for teaching me some tech ropes and to Deborah Kelly and Paula Adkins-Boyland who have recently joined us.

But no magazine exists without its writers and their submissions. What a pleasure it has been to receive and accept these finely-crafted, carefully wrought, original poems and share them with our readers. Our submissions come from across the country and around the world. As a poet myself, I know well the often isolating labor and time required to make carefully honed, viable poems. Equally gratifying in this position has been the opportunity to work with talented new poets who are willing to revise with small changes in their submissions. As a writing teacher, working with these committed poets who submit to Streetlight and accept suggestions for clarifications has been my privilege. And we all can be grateful, as well, to 21st century technology which makes this process of moving creative work from a poet’s desk into an online forum possible. Not that many years ago we were carrying armloads of envelopes to the post office with self-addressed stamped envelopes in them for replies. This editor thanks Submittable for all that it does to help poets facilitate connections with numerous publishers.

So Welcome! Sharon Ackerman and Frederick Wilbur to Streetlight Magazine’s editorial staff. We are delighted and grateful for your skills and your gift of undertaking this work.

Sharon Ackerman earned an M.Ed from the University of Virginia. She was the first place winner in the Hippocrates Poetry in Medicine international contest, London 2019. Her poems have appeared in Streetlight Magazine, Heartwood Literary Journal, the Hippocrates Poetry in Medicine Anthology, and are forthcoming in the Atlanta Review.

Frederick Wilbur received his BA from the University of Virginia and an MA from the University of Vermont. He has authored three books on architectural and decorative woodcarving. His fourth book is a poetry collection, As Pus Floats the Splinter Out. His work has appeared in many print and on-line reviews including Shenandoah, The Atlanta Review, The Comstock Review, The Dalhousie Review, Rise Up Review, and Mojave River Review. He was awarded the Stephen Meats Award by Midwest Quarterly (2017).

Roselyn Elliott is the author of four poetry chapbooks: Ghost of the Eye, 2016, Animals Usher Us to Grace, 2011, At the Center, 2008, and The Separation of Kin, 2006. Her essays and poems have appeared in New Letters, diode, Streetlight Magazine, The Florida Review, BLUELINE, and other publications. She is the poetry editor at Streetlight Magazine, and teaches at The Visual Art Center of Richmond.