When I was asked to guest edit an issue of the Santa Fe Poetry Broadside, I was thrilled because to an artist, the great advantage of web magazines is that there are no restrictions on color art, as there are in the print journals, where color is cost prohibitive, and art in general is not always included. So I saw it as an opportunity to cut loose with showcasing some of the great Japanese influenced art and poetry combinations being produced in the English-speaking world. To tighten up the theme into a cohesive whole, I asked contributors to send poems and art with a focus on the natural world.

The poets queried are among those who are known for their talent at combining color images with the English speaking versions of the Japanese poetic genres, as well as English-speaking poets whose work as poets is so exemplary that they set the standard for excellence in the field. Michael McClintock is one such poet. He excels as a writer of haiku, tanka, and many other poetic genres. As such, his work needs no images to adorn it. His work represents the section on tanka.