Dearest RWW Community—

As my cohort is making our way through our final year of the program, putting our finishing touches on our creative theses, I am excited to share this new issue of Soundings, which offers a lovely reprieve from the mess I’ve made on my living room floor trying to sequence my manuscript.

Through the features in this issue, I read invitations to consider our place as writers in real worlds and in real communities. With this issue, our team at Soundings is excited to share Justin St. Germain’s craft essay, adapted from a morning talk panel from last summer’s residency entitled “Any Resemblance to Real Life Is Entirely Inevitable.” Justin’s essay invites us to reflect on our responsibilities as writers and members of our communities: How do we write the complexity of real people? Justin offers some thought-provoking questions to help us shape our approach to the page. Further, we have the privilege of sharing an interview with two second-year RWW students, Marty Salgado and Dabu, reflecting on their Outside Experiences. A cornerstone of RWW’s pedagogy, the Outside Experience asks students to engage with the writing life in a context outside of the classroom and away from the page. Dabu and Marty’s reflections evidence the Outside Experience’s potential to celebrate the spirit, the lived experience, and the curiosity that are core tools for writers. As always, we also celebrate the RWW community through our listings of Publications, Announcements, and Literary Citizenship.

We hope you enjoy the Spring 2025 issue of Soundings!

antmen pimentel mendoza
Editor

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Editor's note: Members of our team experienced unexpected setbacks and emergencies this year, causing this issue to be delayed significantly. We thank you for your patience during this time.