Ed.’s Note: the poem is best viewed horizontal on a cell phone.
Standing in rivers getting bit by mosquitoes without cell service
mosquitoes rise from the river in avenging crescendo Mini-interview with Linea Jantz HFR: Can you share a moment that has shaped you as a writer (or continues to)? LJ: In 2020, in the height of the pandemic lockdown, my toddler had a medical emergency. I felt very alone in dealing with the situation and everything that followed. It was the hardest year of my life and I was facing it without my usual social support network. I was not doing well but trying to hold it together for everyone else. One day I was sitting in my car in a parking lot scrolling social media while waiting for something or other—maybe one of my son’s appointments? I came across the poem “Nothing” by Ocean Vuong. It was so searingly TRUE and gorgeous. I absolutely collapsed, sobbing out all the emotions I hadn’t allowed myself for months … and somehow that helped me to breathe fully again. That is my favorite poem to this day. And in the comment section of this poem, these random men were CRITIQUING this masterpiece of a poem. “He’s trying to do too much here.” “If he just chose a topic, it would be a passable poem.” At first, I was enraged. Then I realized, Wow. Two people can have wildly different reactions to the same poem. When I get a rejection or someone doesn’t like or “get” something I wrote, I try to remind myself of that moment. A poem doesn’t have to be for everyone. We send our writing out into the world and give it its chance to find its people. Imagine if Ocean Vuong had never shared that poem (or any of his other incredible writing) for fear of what some random guys on the internet would say about it? HFR: What are you reading? LJ: I get the “audiobook version” of a lot of Geronimo Stilton and Dog Man comics lately as my eight-year-old reads them to me. I love the full body joy these books bring to my kids. That’s a special kind of writing. For myself, I’m about to finish The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey. Reading this book is like sipping stillness. So good. This morning I read a masterful essay in Orion Magazine that made me cry: “Essence of Lavender” by Katrina Vandenberg. I’d also like to wholeheartedly recommend some recent book reads: Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel and The Verifiers by Jane Pek. Also, if you haven’t read Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia yet, it’s one of my favorite books of the year. HFR: Can you tell us what prompted “Standing in rivers getting bit by mosquitoes without cell service”? LJ: A camping trip in Montana. HFR: What’s next? What are you working on? LJ: Ray Bradbury said, “Write a short story every week. I defy you to write 52 bad short stories in a row.” So this year I set the goal of writing 52 short stories. I’m trying a bunch of different genres; historical fiction, horror, solarpunk, slipstream … Time will tell if I prove the exception to the rule and all 52 manage to be terrible lol! But regardless, I’m learning a lot challenging myself in this way. HFR: Take the floor. Be political. Be fanatical. Be anything. What do you want to share? LJ: First, if Congress still hasn’t voted on this act by the time this poem/interview publishes, please consider adding your voice in support for Congress to pass the PFAS Action Act and protect our drinking water from toxic chemicals: https://secure.foodandwaterwatch.org/act/congress-pass-pfas-action-act A description of the main points of the bill can be found at the link above. If you’re wondering if the organization Food and Water Watch is legit, they’re one of the supporters of the environmental media organization Grist. I also looked them up on Charity Navigator and they have a 96% rating. Have you read anything by Sumana Roy? She always makes me think. I don’t necessarily always agree with every single thing she says, but since when is that the goal of reading something? She’s brilliant. My subconscious is still gnawing on her essay Feedback Dope. Purple Ink Press has an open submission call for work on Tender Masculinities through October 31. I’m really looking forward to reading the online folio when it publishes. https://purpleinkpress.com/tender-masculinities/ Speaking of tender masculinity … sometimes social media can be a dumpster fire but every time I see a post from Peter Mutabazi, the former street kid who is now a dedicated foster dad, it gives me hope. In over a decade of teaching, I loved lots of kiddos from rough places. I know there’s a lot of hard and hurting stuff being worked through in the background of these sweet posts. I appreciate people loving hurting beings (kids, adults, animals) through rough times while still hopefully holding some boundaries to cherish their own energy and space. Isn’t it incredible that throughout the centuries, all the violence, pain and darkness that has battered humanity has NEVER been able to stomp out laughter, small acts of kindness and moments of joy? Evil has never been able to eradicate storytelling, art, music or love. And it has tried. Over and over. Because evil knows the power in all of those “small” things. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this quote by Audre Lorde: “The point is to do as much as I can of what I came to do before they nickel and dime me to death. Racism. Cancer. In both cases, to win the aggressor must conquer, but the resisters need only survive. How do I define that survival and on whose terms?” Linea Jantz has worked in a wide range of roles over the years including teaching Business English in Ukraine (pre-invasion), working as a bike law paralegal, and helping film a documentary about women entrepreneurs in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. Her writing features in publications including Beaver Magazine, EcoTheo Review, and Palette Poetry. She is a past presenter of the Poetry Moment for Spokane Public Radio and is the current Writing the Land Poet for the Sunnyside-Snake River Wildlife Area. Check out HFR’s book catalog, publicity list, submission manager, and buy merch from our Spring store. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube. Disclosure: HFR is an affiliate of Bookshop.org and we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Sales from Bookshop.org help support independent bookstores and small presses.
can you hear me now?heat pulses like a heartbeat on my skin
air heavy with the breathof sun-baked pines and wild mint
I made the man outside the gas station crygray hair and whiskers
but he still misses his mamame too, honey
a watermelon lolls along the river
bobbingecstaticmy dog gives chase
gives play
how has the melon survived this long
in bear country?
I ride the stream
breast stroke the current
my legs
slice cool water
in the evening, I splay above my sleeping bag in hundred degree heat
my lover smells like smokecampfire
days turn to bloated weeks
I throw up
is it giardia?
am I pregnant?
the ultrasound shows
my belly is alive
flickering
with the hum of mosquitoes in flight
Heavy Feather Review 