Summer 2025
Issue No. 23: Power
Dear Reader,
Every time I sat down to write this Editor's note, I found myself intimidated by the task at hand. I was struck, as I often am, by the power that words can have. It's one of the reasons that people in precarious positions of power like to burn books. Ideas strike sparks in the mind, which can flame into full-fledged beliefs and feelings. Creative writing challenges us to think about the world around us, to think critically, and to consider the viewpoints of others. Stories engender empathy, and in a political climate where the two sides of the aisle feel so far apart, empathy is one of the most powerful tools we have to bring people together. To tell a story is to wield power in a way that only we as wordsmiths can.
When we chose the theme of Power for this issue, we did not do so lightly. We wanted people to really grapple with the idea of it, in all its forms: abuse of power, lack of power, both internal and external powers. Each piece in this issue was chosen by our editorial team because they embodied the theme in their own way. I hope that as you read this issue, you confront your own ideas about power and about the world. I hope you flex your empathy muscles. It’s one of the most powerful things you can do.
Sincerely,
Katie Blue-Pugh
Editor-in-Chief
This issue of Stonecoast Review is dedicated to
Zoe Kaplan,
whose warm presence touched us all
and who will be sorely missed.
Please consider donating to
The Zoe Sarah Kaplan Memorial Award
in her honor
Why Poetry?
Because every song begins within the body. Because marigolds adorn us on Diwali, shaadis,
& in death. Because flowers are what I know & their shredding. Because each petal & leaf
How To Leave
Start small. Whisper I mean it to the chimney
each night for a month. Crack the window higher
than the usual scratch on the jamb.
To know how it spreads, inhale the marine layer.
A Palliative Approach to Twilight
If the sun is going to keep on
rising and setting like everything is normal
How to Survive a Maine Winter
How many times have I gone down to water to drown?
Where I would go to weep, to think, in my last-ditch effort
Protest Sounds
I was a battle cry. I was the shouting of many throats and the raising of many fists. I was feet treading concrete.
Laissez-Faire
In the red vinyl booth bench,
I empty the metal rack on the Formica table.
My parents ignore my obsession,
too focused on Reagan’s laissez-faire economics
blasting on the TV mounted above.
The Gynecologist Explains My Options
You don’t have many
years left, if I’m being honest.
Amazing how quickly a woman’s window
Astronomers Are Keeping an Eye on This Asteroid’s Odds of Hitting Earth
this morning’s snowperson is a sad lump already
soft like an aging snow cone around the underbelly
woodchip eyes and buttons in a heap.
