Issue Fifteen – November 2025

From the Founding Editor:


The twenty-six writers in Issue Fifteen are as diverse as the pieces of writing themselves. From New York to California, and twelve states in between, I’m happy to welcome you to the Rockvale Review family. For the curious, Massachusetts was the most represented state this time, with six of the twenty-six writers claiming it as home.

From a soldier’s perspective to a child’s intuitive understanding, from endings to beginnings, from careful structure to a looser play of poetic form, the poems and stories you’ll read here weave strong language into a fabric that becomes this issue. I appreciate the varied landscapes and contexts, the narrative and the lyrical, as the writers present unique and interesting scenes of humanity. I enjoy the differences.

And yet,

As is often the case when choosing pieces for an issue, unplanned themes begin to emerge. I say unplanned because we never go into a reading period looking for certain subjects. We look for good writing. Perhaps our subconscious minds begin to draw connections as we read the pieces, but I lean toward this phenomenon being a strange and wonderful surprise – especially because the five editors don’t all read the same pieces.

You might be able to discern the connections simply by scanning the titles, but if you can’t, I’ll share that eight pieces have food/drink as a major theme or a structure upon which the major theme rests. That’s thirty percent! If you appreciate the culinary, enjoy! Enjoy all the writing!

Rockvale Review began in 2017 with two issues a year (except 2021) and since then, the journal has published around 430 writers, plus some artists and musicians. It’s been a privilege to support creative people with the journal, but now it’s time to do other things. Issue Fifteen will be the last issue of Rockvale Review. I have ideas spinning in my head (which can be dangerous!) for other projects and platforms. The world is wonderfully wide and the possibilities are immense. Also, “rest” is a word I’d like to get to know a little better, too!