Cutleaf Reader: Vol. 1

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

Cutleaf Reader: Volume One is a collection of 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 Lauren K Alleyne, Benjamin Anastas, Erica Anderson-Senter, Luci Arbus-Scandiffio, Chris Arthur, Ezra Baeli-Wang, Douglas Bauer, Sage Behr, Ace Boggess, Greg Bottoms, Barrett Bowlin, Wesley Browne, Elijah Burrell, Matt Cashion, Chiwan Choi, Jasmin Darznik, John Davis Jr., Hanna Ferguson, Kevin Fitton, Henry Giardina, William Glidden, Jesse Graves, Lauren Green, Russell Green, Kari Gunter-Seymour, Melissa Helton, Jay Hodges, Julia Halprin Jackson, Jeremy Jones, Tara Kelly, Elise Lasko, Daniel Leach, George Ella Lyon, Maurice Manning, Meredith McCarroll, Karen Salyer McElmurray, Chris McGinley, E Ethelbert Miller, Jennifer Stewart Miller, Matt Muilenberg, Vanessa Nirode, Diane Payne, Matt Prater, David B. Prather, Ron Rash, Ethan Rutherford, Robert Sachs, E.C. Salibian, Darci Schummer, Carter Sickels, R.B. Simon, George Singleton, Ralph Sneeden, Clara Strong, Joe Tobias, Ray Trotter, Erika Veurink, Barrett Warner, Joan Wickersham, Ben Woodard, Sylvia Woods, Amy Wright, Erika T. Wurth, Peggy Xu, and Margaret Yapp.

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.

326 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2022

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.