Editors note

We would like to thank you so much for taking the time to read this issue. Our journey into Issue 5 was filled with ups and downs (between juggling AP exams and the onboarding of three new editors), but seeing this issue come to light has made this process entirely worth it.

We’d like to take a moment to reflect on just what a wonderful journey this has been. When we introduced our new fiction category in Issue 4, we were hesitant about how far we would be able to lead Tiger Leaping Review in this new direction. With Issue 5, however, all our doubts were blown away, and we were wonderfully surprised to have received a record number of submissions in both our poetry and prose categories. Without a doubt, this milestone was made possible by you all as our readers and submitters. So, as you read through Issue 5, please take a moment to congratulate yourself as well: it is you who have made this journey at Tiger Leaping Review possible.

We received many incredibly beautiful submissions this issue, and reading through each and every line of prose and poetry was truly a wonderful experience. The twelve pieces accepted for this issue reflect feelings deeply personal or rooted in the authors’ psyche. “Forgive me…goodbye, / my dearest 外婆. / I remember the last time you left with your suitcase, / the train’s headlights were just as bright,” writes Hanna Han in “Farewell,” encapsulating the fresh yet nostalgic pain of a loved one’s departure. In “The second time,” Grant Shimmin writes: “...Soon applause draws him out / from that place in the music he’s been / smile stretched from lips to eyes ‘corners / …He’s still playing when I must leave / One day, perhaps, I’ll find / the courage to read him this poem”. Shimmin weaves the feeling of sweet and aching longing to understand someone from afar into each line, reflecting another aspect of the deeply nuanced and complex emotions of the human experience.

We hope you can find something inspirational, beautiful, and enjoyable in each of our pieces in Issue 5. The crafting of this issue and the exploration of poetry and prose in such varied topics has truly been a wonderful experience that we are so excited to share with you all. So without further ado, we’d like to welcome BJ Thoray, Brandice Askin, Calla Smith, DS Maolalai, Grant Shimmin, Hanna Han, Jacqueline McCool, John Brantingham, MF Charles, Navneet Bhullar, Spencer Keene, William Doreski, and you, as our reader, to Tiger Leaping Review.

Yours truly,

Claire Wang, Mira Sridharan, and Kenna Zhang

EICs at Tiger Leaping Review