The Thing I Needed but Didn’t Know Why I Needed It: Reflecting on the ELEVATE Issue
By Jennifer N. Shannon
When Yellow Arrow Publishing Editor-in-Chief, Kapua Iao, emailed me asking if I’d take on the role of guest editor for Yellow Arrow Journal’s spring 2024 issue (Vol. IX, No. 1), without much thought I said yes.
1) Yes, because it was Yellow Arrow; I used to be on the board, and I have deep respect for the organization and its mission.
2) It would allow me to be immersed in other people’s writing, given that my own writing had been stagnant.
3) I’d be the guest editor for a literary journal . . . how many times would I get that chance? Of course, I said yes.
After I sent the Yellow Arrow team several possibilities, the theme that was chosen was ELEVATE. It was right up my alley. Elevate means “to raise or lift (something) up to a higher position,” which is what I had been trying to do in my life and career. There was no better time for me to explore the subject for myself, than through the lens of others.
Once the call for submissions went out, my immersion into other women’s work was busy and delightful. I read with a hunger I hadn’t had in a while. I was blown away by the talent I was witnessing and happy that I would be the one to make the final selections, and that I’d get to fulfill my vision for ELEVATE.
So much of what I was craving for myself I found in the words I read, the artwork I saw, and the collaborations with the Yellow Arrow readers, who were heads down, also reading and exploring the 181 submissions sent in. I was inspired to write and pursue my own dreams more wholly just as the women who sent in their work were doing. Even if writing wasn’t full time for them, I realized that it was the kind of elevation I was looking for: to hike a mountain and reach its summit, aka start a new venture called Creative Communion and make sure I get to the top.
I’ve refined my writing skills and reaffirmed several truths during my time as guest editor for Yellow Arrow Journal:
1) I figured out how to meet deadlines even though my world already seemed overwhelmed with time constraints.
2) I was reminded that putting in the work of sitting down and writing is what creates the space and energy for more writing, and more ideas.
3) I realized that my intuition is still undefeated. Whenever I’ve trusted my gut over what others wanted or thought was best, things have always worked out better than imagined. The same is true for ELEVATE.
Becoming a guest editor and working on every aspect of the issue has done so much to move me forward while pushing me to take chances in my creative life. This experience was exactly what I needed to be doing to jump start my writing and to encourage me to create the things I want to see in the world.
I’m thankful to Yellow Arrow Publishing for this opportunity. I’m also grateful for the incredible women-identifying creatives who furnished the stories and artwork for this awesome issue. My hope is that everyone who reads ELEVATE will be inspired to pursue something more wholly, push fear out of the window and soar.
If you haven’t already got your copy, order ELEVATE at yellowarrowpublishing.com/store/yellow-arrow-journal-elevate-paperback. Thank you for supporting independent publishing.
Jennifer N. Shannon has published three books: Silent Teardrops; for the LOVE, short stories and poems, vol. 1; and for the LOVE, short stories and poems, vol. 2. Her poetry, short stories, photographs, and essays have been in an anthology and literary magazines, including North Dakota Quarterly, Yellow Arrow Journal, Deep South Magazine, Auburn Avenue, and others. Jennifer was a 2022 Baker Artist Awards finalist, a poetry fellow at the Watering Hole, and in 2023, she was selected as a Maryland State Arts Council Triennial Artist for Literary Arts. Jennifer is a proud South Carolinian and Gamecock who lives in Maryland with her son and fiancé. Visit jennifernshannon.com or follow her @writerjns on Instagram and Facebook.
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