Editor's Note

Dear Reader,

We are so excited to bring the first issue of our nascent literary journal into the world. The work we have put into considering and organizing this issue over the past months has been a bit of a refuge, and we hope you feel a sense of restoration and catharsis here too.

Tethered Literary was birthed out of the zoom writing sessions our group of five has held since graduating from the Oregon State University–Cascades MFA program. By the time serious discussions began of creating a literary journal, we had all faced enough rejection to know we wanted to be a part of creating more space for more stories and to do so with care. This has been a true passion project, and one that has further energized our dedication to literature and art beyond our individual aspirations.

In this issue, you will find a mix of prose and poetry selected from twelve contributing writers that explore origins, relations, queerness, stories of women, fat joy, aging, and endings. Our editors’ pieces “To Tend” and “Look At Me” speak to some of these themes as well. Also included is visual art from six contributors that we felt further amplified the words.

This publication marks a milestone in the Tethered journey, and we are not done growing. In future issues and through our blog, we plan to check back in on our contributors to see where their words have taken them. We also want to further our reach into literary and art communities so we can broaden the diversity of backgrounds and experiences.

The submission window for our second issue will be open from March 15th-May 31st. Spin your webs strong, your stories thick. Send your words out from their corners into the world and watch: they pull us along.

Thank you for reading,

Ari Blatt, Elizabeth Higgins, Amelia Salzman, Keisha Thierry, and Imke Wernicke Berger