Bramble Summer 2023 print issue is now available.
Editor’s Note
What is the color of emotion? The scale? Joy only exists in opposition to sorrow, deep abiding feelings we as humans experience through our bodies, our physical borders—in all weather. For this call, I wanted to see how people were doing to compare it to my own experience of living through these past years but also to see how we were holding on—how we were piecing this together. Our pieces, poems, thoughts, in words and breath, form and the physicality of it all in language. What I found and what I was drawn to for this selection of poems was nature, it is a through line in these poems: the seasons, flying on the ice with bed sheets and skates, canning the abundant fruits, our labors, our roots, our love for the physical world and each other. There is such beauty to witness here in our daily walks, watching squirrel families and dandelions bloom, and of course in dilly beans.
Angela Trudell Vasquez
Summer 2023
Angela Trudell Vasquez
Angela (Angie) Trudell Vasquez is the current city of Madison Poet Laureate (2020-2024) and the first Latina to hold the position. Angie received her MFA in poetry from the Institute of American Indian Arts in 2017. Recently, her poems have appeared in The Slow Down, Yellow Medicine Review, Poem-a-Day, About Place Journal and in several anthologies. In 2018 she was a finalist for the New Women’s Voices series and her collection, In Light, Always Light, was published by Finishing Line Press in May 2019. Finishing Line Press also published her fourth collection of poetry, My People Redux, in January 2022. In the summer of 2021 she became a Macondo Fellow or a Macondista. She is the current chair of the Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission. (angietrudellvasquez.com & artnightbooks.com).
Strength Comes from Loss
Emily Wilson
Artist Statement
This piece was originally inspired by the poem, “Strength Comes from Loss” by Zoe K. Baranowski. It is all about regrowth in ourselves and everything around us. On one side of the tree there are growing healthy leaves while the other side shows falling leaves which can symbolize a rebirth in ourselves, our identities, and ideas. The silhouette of the person sitting under the tree represents our thoughtfulness and tranquility. The roots underneath show our potential from reaching out in the world but also staying stable and true to ourselves at the same time.
Artist Bio
Emily Wilson
Emily Wilson is a third-year student at Edgewood College in Madison, WI where she is pursuing a degree in graphic design. She was born in Madison, WI and has also succeeded in completing her Liberal Arts and Humanities associate degree from Madison College in 2021. Over the last couple of years, Emily has focused on earning her degree by learning typography, digital design, digital fine art, graphic design and website development. At Edgewood, she works with Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and more. Emily enjoys creating works with minimalistic themes and ideas about happiness and the meaning of life. She draws inspiration from artists like Aubrey Beardsley, Salvador Dali, and Andy Warhol. Emily is currently involved with the community by working as an active member to spread respect and kindness every day. In the future, she hopes to use her graphic design skills and knowledge to inspire others.
Essay
Joy
Angela Trudell Vasquez
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I’ve returned to this river valley
for the peace—
to do nothing