Frame of Reference

Introduction

Annette Goldsmith

Here we are at last: I hope you'll find this issue was worth waiting for. It's our first theme issue, and the subject is poetry.

It's also my last issue as editor, and I give my most heartfelt thanks to everyone (including spouses) who worked so hard and gave so generously of their time and talent over the first five years of The Looking Glass: that means the administrative staff, the board, the column editors, the contributors, and, you, the readers. Five years is a long time for busy people to volunteer on a project, and several of us are now moving on to other things. Many of the original staff remain, new people are joining and TLG's future looks very bright.

Our new editor, Jane Goldstein, begins with the next (August 2) issue. Jane has been living in the Netherlands, and is moving back to the United States this spring. With her background in drama, music, and children's literature in an international context, I am confident she will take TLG in exciting new editorial directions. Do share with her your comments and suggestions.

Publisher Sue Easun is also leaving. She has supported and championed TLG from the beginning--our first home was her website--and is largely responsible for keeping it going. We are looking for a new publisher who will love and care for TLG and promote it at every possible opportunity, for a time commitment of about 5 hours a week (for free, of course). Applications welcome! We also need new column editors for My Own Invention (innovative children's literature projects), In the Twinkling of an Eye (humour) and Mirrors and Windows (cross-cultural topics). Contact Jane Goldstein for details.

Now for the poetry issue... In Alice's Academy, Millicent Lenz sets the tone with a wonderful overview of the sublime poetry of Richard Wilbur. Does illustration enhance or distract? Amanda McKinlay explores the effect of illustrated poems in Picture Window. The Cook discovers the intimate connection between poetry and mangoes in the work of John Agard; enjoy this most sensuous Pig and Pepper. What's the latest on Harry Potter? ThE hAtTeR tells all in Spyglass. Then join The Dodo in The Caucus-Race as she circumnavigates the World Wide Web to bring you her favourite poetry sites.

This issue abounds with anniversaries. In My Own Invention, Dan Hade reviews ten years of The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Prize. Find out about the Signal Poetry Prize and winners in our new column from England, A Distant Mirror, ably edited by bookseller Ruth Allen. (This month marks the sixth birthday of TLG, International Children's Book Day and National Poetry Month.)

Puzzle-maker extraordinaire Joanne Schott has outdone herself with two companion acrostics that feature quotations from the same writer. Acrostic X-8 and Acrostic X-9 are likely the last she will do for us, but we're holding a spot in our hearts for X-10 just in case We also have two companion pieces on Canada's best-known children's poet, Dennis Lee. Jeffrey Canton celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of Lee's Alligator Pie in Looking Glass Lore; and Kathleen Bailey describes a Toronto school visit Lee made on Sept. 12, 2001, the day after those fateful terrorist attacks. This is Kathleen's final Mirrors and Windows column for The Looking Glass; we will miss her thoughtful musings. And I could think of no better September 11 tribute to New York than former column editor Mary Beaty's lyrical "Lullaby of Broadway" Monitor column, first published October 2, 1998 (vol.2:3).

There are still more comings and goings. Miami Herald reviewer and writer Sue Corbett takes over Illuminating Texts from Bessie Condos Tichauer: her debut column features a full-fledged poetry workshop by Margriet Ruurs.

Finally, I would like to dedicate this very special issue to the memory of two dear friends who also loved children's books: Bonnie Miller and her daughter, Taliesina Hortop.

The Opposite of Two

What is the opposite of two?.
A lonely me, a lonely you.

Richard Wilbur

Editorially yours,
Annette Goldsmith

Volume 6, Issue 1, The Looking Glass, 2002

Site design and content, except where noted, © The Looking Glass 2002.
"Frame of Reference - Introduction" © Annette Goldsmith, 2002
Send general correspondence regarding The Looking Glass c/o The Editor