Ploughshares Spring 2013

The Spring 2013 issue of Ploughshares, edited by Major Jackson. Ploughshares, a journal of new writing, is guest-edited serially by prominent writers who explore different personal visions, aesthetics, and literary circles.The poet Major Jackson (Holding Company, Hoops) compiles this eclectic Spring issue, which includes the work of several distinguished writers and newcomers. Featuring poetry by writers like Mark Doty, Martin Espada, Tony Hoagland, Laura Kasischke, Sharon Olds, Carl Phillips, and Tracy K. Smith, the issue is a dazzling tour of the modern poetic landscape in America. There is also a wide variety of fiction, from the story of a high school girl in the South and her relationship with a white teacher ("What Happens Next," by Emily Bernard) to a New York doorman dying of cancer ("The Rubber Game," by Sherri Phillips). The issue also features a Plan B essay by Floyd Skloot ("The Great Dream"), about the mostly thwarted ambitions of the members of his family, and an appreciation of the British writer Barbara Pym ("Patron Saint of Quiet Lives," by Raina Lipsitz).INTRODUCTIONMajor JacksonEDITOR PROFILEGregory PardloFICTION"What Happens Next," by Emily Bernard"Brief Encounter with the Household Gods," by David Huddle"Transfer Station," by Elise Juska"Andorra," by Szidonia Molnar"The Rubber Game," Sherri Phillips"Monkey See," by David James Poissant"Alan at the Kirschbergs'," by Anna Solomon"Church," by Kimberly SwayzePOETRY byPeter BalakianSandra BeasleyErin BelieuTraci BrimhallJericho BrownStephen BrowningMaggie DietzMark DotyJaclyn DwyerMartin EspadaDidi GibbsNathalie HandalTony HoaglandLaura KasischkeJoanna KlinkRebecca LehmannAlex LemonJamaal MayJeffrey McDanielErika MeitnerFred MotenHarryette MullenVi Khi NaoJay NebelSharon OldsYaddyra PeraltaCarl PhillipsCatherine PierceBethany PrayNicole SealeyMaureen SeatonLisa SewellJohn Warner SmithTracy K. SmithPimone TriplettAnne Pierson WieseBruce WillardJake Adam YorkJavier ZamoraMISC"The Great Dream," a Plan B essay by Floyd Skloot"Patron Saint of Quiet Lives," a Look2 essay on Barbara Pym by Raina LipsitzPOSTSCRIPTSAlice Hoffman Prize for Fiction