Time, Memory, and Snapshots of Life: Yellow Arrow Journal (Vol. X, No. 2) KAIROS

Now, I try to remember.
Not just her
but who I was
before I learned
that time can fold in on itself. 

“Two Familiar Strangers” by Gloria Ogo

KAIROS, the just released issue of Yellow Arrow Journal, Vol. X, No. 2, guest edited by Darah Schillinger, explores the aftermath and aftereffects of catalytic moments, forged from either small flash fires or conflagration. Kairos is a Greek word meaning an opportune and decisive moment. We are honored to have had the opportunity to work with the team, the authors, and the cover artist as we weaved together this issue, especially at a time when such personal, poignant stories are so vital. We are also privileged to be able to share it (and them) with you. In the issue’s introduction, Darah adds:

“. . . as I reread each piece within the issue, I am struck by how deeply personal and yet widely resonant they are. In these pages, you’ll find contributors who are navigating memory, grief, identity, and change—not to relive the past but to better understand how it informs who they are and who they could become.”

Paperback and PDF versions are now available from the Yellow Arrow bookstore. Discounts are also available (here) if you would like to purchase copies for friends and family (minimum purchase of five). You can also search for Yellow Arrow Journal on any e-book device or anywhere you purchase print and electronic books, including Amazon and most other distribution channels. Discounted bundles of both our 2025 issues are also available from our bookstore.

Darah Schillinger (she/her) is a writer based in Lexington Park, Maryland. Her poems have appeared in AVATAR Literary Magazine, Yellow Arrow Journal, Maryland Bards Poetry Review, Empyrean Literary Magazine, Grub Street Magazine, and Eunoia Review and on the Spillwords Press website. In October 2024, her poem “An elegy for the Pompeii woman the Internet wants to fuck” was named a finalist for the Montreal International Poetry Prize. Her first poetry chapbook, when the daffodils die, was released in July 2022 by Yellow Arrow Publishing. Her second collection, Still Warm, is a work in progress.

KAIROS features Stephanie Anderson, Aileen Bassis, Deepti Bhatia, Loretta Cantieri, Roxanne Christiana, Virginia Ottley Craighill, Patricia Davis-Muffett, Amy Devine, Johanna Elattar, Renee Emerson, Pratibha Kumari Gupta, Taylor Harrison, Elizabeth Hazen, Jennifer Randall Hotz, Cam McGlynn, Gloria Ogo, Rebecca Hart Olander, Giulia Paglione, Danielle Salerno, Hillary Smith-Maddern, erica r. such, Vivian Walman-Randall, Kathleen Weed, Katharine Weinmann, Audrey J. Whitson, Keri Withington, Chelsea Yates, and Kristin Camitta Zimet.

The cover art is called “The Awakening Aperture” and created by Clara Garza. According to Clara, “The circle (inspired by the aperture of a camera, or the lens that captures a fleeting fragment of time) is composed of pieces of the diary of a fictional college student experiencing college life, from the day she is accepted to the school to her graduation. Her initial doubt is reflected by the moody outer rim of the circle, and as she opens herself to the brightness of college, she starts to appreciate her life more fully.” Thank you, Clara, for sending us your artwork and for letting us showcase it to our community. You can learn more about Clara in an interview with Darah at yellowarrowpublishing.com/news/spotlighting-clara-garza-yaj-kairos.

A huge thanks to the Yellow Arrow team for helping to shape this issue: guest editor Darah Schillinger and creative director Alexa Laharty, along with the KAIROS editorial team, Kapua Iao, Annie Marhefka, Hannah Bishoff, Jill Earl, Jennnifer M. Eyre, Meg Gamble, Siobhan McKenna, Leticia Priebe Rocha, Kait Quinn, Nicky Ruddell, Mel Silberger, Beck Snyder, and Avery Wood.

We hope you enjoy reading KAIROS as much as we enjoyed creating it. Thank you for your continued encouragement of Yellow Arrow Publishing and the creatives involved in KAIROS.

*****

Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women-identifying writers through publication and access to the literary arts. You can support us as we BLAZE a path for women-identifying creatives this year by purchasing one of our publications or a workshop from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, for yourself or as a gift, joining our newsletter, following us on Facebook or Instagram, or subscribing to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 65185, Baltimore, Maryland 21209). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.