December 31, 2025
Hello Wildlings –
Welcome to the MIRROR Issue and our final issue of Feral for 2025.
We started this year with the REVOLUTION issue which allowed our contributors to express their rage and fear and desire for positive change. Next was the JOY issue because we needed to remember all that is good and beautiful about being human even during difficult times. And now, we bring the MIRROR issue which, appropriately, is filled with poetry and art of reflection.
And, so, now we want to reflect on our journey here at Feral. Our first call for submissions was February 1, 2020. By the time we published Issue 1 on April 1, 2020 – we were in lockdown and the world had changed dramatically. Over the past 5 ½ years we have published 24 issues with work from over 1,000 contributors. We do not require our contributors to tell us where they live, how old they are, or how many publications and/or awards they have to their name. But many do share this information, and we do a fairly decent job of keeping track of it all.
Our contributors live in Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, England, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Liberia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Taiwan, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands, The Philippines, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, United States, Wales, and Zimbabwe. Within the United States, we have published contributors from 47 states, as well as Washington DC and Puerto Rico. We’re missing Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming – so if any previous or current contributors are reading this and live in one of those states, please let us know! Our youngest contributor is 15 and our oldest is 93. In almost every issue of Feral we were the first publication for someone’s poem or artwork. Those newbie contributors can see their work published next to individuals with multiple books, gallery exhibits, awards, grants, and fellowships. From day 1, we said to ourselves and to you that we are committed to publishing a wide range of poets and artists, and if we have any “bias,” it’s for underrepresented voices.
We look back at the past 5 ½ years with love – because it is truly a labor of love to run a small, independent journal and we have stayed focused on that love. But…it is also labor and we find ourselves more and more stretched thin with our lives and “day jobs,” and our own creative endeavors. During this time, we have also seen numerous other small journals come and go. And we don’t want to see that happen to Feral. So, we’ve decided to take a hiatus in order to rest and recharge – we will not be publishing any new issues of Feral in 2026, but we’ll be open for subs again in 2027.
To all of our contributors and readers, thank you for being part of this journey. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!
Beth Gordon
Amanda McLeod
Jude Marr
Narmadhaa