Lantern Review: A Journal of Asian American Poetry
Issue 1 | June 2010

We chose to end the poetry section with “10. For Al Robles,” an excerpt from Barbara Jane Reyes’ poem-in-progress, “For the City That Nearly Broke Me,” because of the way that its subject serves to ground us as Asian American readers and writers of poetry. “For Al Robles” calls us to remember those in our communities who have gone before us, the struggles and sacrifices that have made possible the flourishing literary space in which we now operate. As Robles’ ghost returns to the place “where the Pasig River opens its mouth,” he speaks a blessing of healing over it, opening up new streams that renew old sources of life and give birth to further political and creative agency: “in a changed voice,” Reyes writes, “poems will flow.”

It is only fitting that we should end this preface with thanks. So many people have been incredibly kind to us as we’ve attempted to get this project off the ground, and there are no words to adequately describe the extent of our gratitude. Putting together our first issue has been a definite learning experience—we’ve had our fair share of successes and mistakes—and yet we have been overwhelmed with the generosity of those who have volunteered their kind words, constructive feedback, and resources from the first. To our dedicated staff bloggers, as well as to the guest posters and interviewees who have shared their words with us on the LR blog; to the poets who have taken us under their wing, providing advice and helping to spread the word about us in their own circles; to our friends at Kundiman, especially to Carolyn Micklem (who was essential in helping us put together the materials in the Community Voices section) and Vikas Menon (who helped us to promote LR at the AWP conference in April), but also to all of the Fellows and Faculty who have reached out to us since November; to Brandon, our Technology Consultant, who wrote and helped us to manage our submissions database; to our loved ones and friends, for their constant encouragement and support; to our contributors, for allowing us the opportunity to publish their excellent work; to you, our readers, for every retweet and Facebook share and blog link, for every bit of patience you have exercised with our various web site glitches and deadline pushbacks; and most of all to God, for His provision at every step along the way—we are deeply and endlessly grateful.

Iris A. Law & Mia Ayumi Malhotra
June 14, 2010