They say writers should resist the urge to submit something immediately after writing it, and that’s usually true. Recently, however, I ignored this advice—and I’m glad I did, (this time).
I wrote “The Day Before (a checklist)” on, appropriately, the day before the first day of school. It was a busy day that even included a mini family reunion. Change—and BBQ!—was in the air. I started jotting down the various activities I had already done that day, adding more as they occurred. Everyday, ordinary things. But on that unofficial start of Autumn, poignant things. By the time we’d consumed the last piece of spice cake, packed everyone up, and gone home, this poem was the result.
Given its themes of home, presence, reflection, and the familiar, as well as its seasonal nature, I thought it might be a fit for Heimat Review’s inaugural, Autumn issue. Luckily, they agreed!
showing list of Issue 1 contributors, 7 October 2022.
This how they describe their publication:
Heimat means “home.” More than a house or city, heimat is the place of being, of presence and reflection. It is the moment in time when you are invited to ask “where am I” and “where should I be?”.
Heimat Review is an online journal that seeks to be a home for your prose and poetry. It is a journal of treehouses and chipped coffee mugs; creaky floors and dusty corners. A place to tape your work to the kitchen fridge.
We are interested in your reflections and nostalgia, your narratives of familiarity and strangeness, the things that draw you back to where you are – and where you hope to be.
It’s such an honour to be in Issue 1! I’m thrilled that “The Day Before (a checklist)” found a home in its pages. Read my work, and all the other wonderful pieces, on the Heimat Review website.
Sonia Nicholson 