Congratulations! You made it to Public School Poetry. In our first issue, eight superfine poets share work about desire, death, running, friendship, queerness, teaching, wildfire, the ocean, and Norse mythology with you. And, if that wasn’t enough, they also fearlessly agreed to write a “five paragraph essay” on another contributor’s poems that we, the Public School Poetry Vice Principals, randomly and anonymously assigned them.

We’re interested in the possibilities that come from meeting new people and sitting with their words. And we’re interested in how we might talk about poetry, and the craft of it, in a more immediate, less careerist way. As far as we know, no other journal has ever attempted such an exchange, and, in this issue, these poets have gifted us a new kind of experience.

We’re all learning. We’re all making introductions. Welcome to the club.