Hola Folkarinos,

I have never been very good at navigating the odd space between simultaneous joy and sadness. I have heard the word "bittersweet" used. For my money, taste is the wrong sense here. Instead, it is more like hearing a really great anthemic heartbreaker, learning the words, being both stoked to sing it and hit by its meaning. But figurative language aside, I find my self both saddened and overjoyed now. I am deeply sad that my partner in crime and contemporary compatriot here, Susan McCarty, is taking her remarkable talents to Michigan to be closer to her husband, a writer I also deeply admire, Matthew Kirkpatrick. I am also happy there will no longer be distance between them. They rock. On a personal note, I will miss you two. Actively.

I am also supermegacrazy excited to announce my new fiction counterpart at SU will be Katherine Zlabek. I do not believe it would be any kind of overstatement to call her a badass. She is an AWP Intro Journal Prize winner for fiction, she has a haunting chapbook out from Ricochet Editions. She has a PhD from Cincy (U of Cincinnati) and an MFA from Kalamazoo (WMU). She has worked on Cincinnati Review and Third Coast. She has taught a wide range of fiction and creative writing courses. Her intellect is sharp. Her pen is subtle and spiky, Her personality is welcoming and engaging. I know our students will be lucky to have her in their corner and will learn tons from her! So, welcome Katherine. I'm beyond stoked you are joining me. I know we will do great things. I can't wait until fall semester.

Katherine will have a feature reading at SU on October 5th at 8:00pm in the Worcester Room in the Commons. It will be free and open to the public. Come check her out!

More Soon,

John