The Cutleaf Reader: Volume One

by Keith Pilapil Lesmeister (editor), Denton Loving (Editor), Kelly March (Editor)

THE CUTLEAF READER - VOLUME ONE collects short stories, essays, and poetry by some of the best established writers of our time as well as exciting work from emerging writers. Here you will find poems by Maurice Manning, E. Ethelbert Miller, Lauren K. Alleyne, and Kari-Gunter Seymour; short stories by Joan Wickersham, Jazmin Darznik, George Singleton, Ron Rash, Douglas Bauer, and Amy Wright; and essays by Greg Bottoms, Chris Arthur, and Carter Sickels, among others. Perfect for the college and graduate classroom as well as for readers who prefer printed editions, this collection exemplifies the best work of contemporary writers, and gives readers a chance to sample a broad variety of approaches to fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in current literature. CUTLEAF (www.CutleafJournal.com) has been celebrated by the online community in its first year of publication, and now an anthology of the inaugural year of the journal is available in print form.

456 pages, Paperback

Published March 7, 2023

About the author

Keith Pilapil Lesmeister is the author of Mississippi River Museum (WTAW Press, 2023) and We Could've Been Happy Here (MG Press). He's also series editor for The EastOver Anthology of Rural Stories: Writers of Color. A graduate of the Bennington Writing Seminars, his work has appeared in American Short Fiction, Gettysburg Review, New Stories from the Midwest, North American Review, Sycamore Review, Terrain.org, and elsewhere. He lives and works in northeast Iowa.

Reviews

[Christian Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic anthology.

These stories, essays, and poems are from some of the best writers working today. Assembled here is first year of Cutleaf’s publications, a wonderfully varied array of work that captures the essence of the human experience: the highs and lows, sadness and elation. A great addition to any bookshelf.

Cutleaf hasn’t been around that long but they have consistently put out some amazing work. The poetry & prose is neatly packed together in one convenient package. A lot of online journals don’t pay attention much to their design, but Cutleaf has a beautifully simple design that transitions perfectly into this anthology. But that’s just the looks! The work will leave you in awe of these brilliant minds.

Looking forward to Volume 2!!

[Ace Boggess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology includes my short story "Welcome to Rock Haul," so I admit I have a bit of a bias. That said, every issue of Cutleaf is a delight, with excellent poems, stories, and non-fiction. Much of what the journal has published is contained in this book. Well worth the read.

[Walter Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I am an editor at Cutleaf, it's no surprise I think the work in this anthology is outstanding.

So I will just say "thank you" to all the writers who submitted to us in our first year. We are so grateful to all those who entrusted their work to us, and proud to give these poems, short stories, and essays a home in the print world.