Corridor is being distributed all last week and this one. Please keep your eyes open for this dynamic edition! This month’s cover is titled Corridor Vol. 41, “Tech Billionaires Tell Their Workers It’s An Easy Commute Along the Tree-Lined Corridor To The Mount Rainier Data Center.”
NUTSHELL
In a nutshell, July’s collection explores how we endure life’s inevitable losses while discovering grace and belonging through our connections with the natural world, family, memory, and the small moments that sustain us. Personally, I am intrigued by the art form of poetry used as a storytelling device that delivers a veiled message of resilience, survival, and endurance. These are necessary abilities for the 21st century. I’ll take any nurturing I can get at this moment in history. For real.
Many poems explore what it means to continue living despite hardship, loss, aging, illness, loneliness, or change.
Examples include:
Naomi’s “Hymn” transforms surviving near-death experiences into an affirmation of life, imagining bones that “sing.”
Duncan’s “Ginkgo” uses the ancient ginkgo tree as a metaphor for surviving after one’s entire support system has disappeared, ending with a deeply human recognition of perseverance.
Harvey’s “Row House Rhapsody” reflects on family, migration, sacrifice, and discovering the strength that once appeared to be weakness.
Also, something else that might tickle you in July’s volume is the two poems “REMUS THE WERECAT DAYDREAMS” by Taya Sanderson Kesslau and “REMUS” by Shoshana D. Kerewsky. Shoshana’s poem is an inspired reaction to Taya’s poem. There is a story to tell. Please ask Taya and Shoshana to share. You will not be disappointed.
Zines out and about. Left: a stained-glass library in Washington, middle: hanging out at a Hood River, Oregon coffee shop, right: a grocery store at the Lummi Indian Reservation
SALISH SEA POETRY FESTIVAL
The Salish Sea Poetry Festival returns to Bellingham, WA, for its second annual event on November 13–15, 2026. The weekend-long celebration features poetry readings, workshops, outdoor poetry walks, slams, and other literary events celebrating the Pacific Northwest arts community. Please save the date!
Ryler and I are working on a FALL crawl that is going to be fun. We will be stomping around the Fountain District this time. Details will be shared once locations and groups are confirmed. I love the crawls and meeting Corridor people. You all rock!
BIOS BIOS BIOS
Victor Ortiz, a Bellingham poet and Pushcart Prize nominee, writes free-style English-language haiku, preserving elements from Japanese haiku aesthetic and technique.
Naomi Stenberg (she/they) lives in Seattle. A poem of Naomi’s was nominated for the 2026 Monarch Queer Literary Awards. Naomi’s new chapbook, The Measure of Breath, is coming out this Fall.
Taya Sanderson Kesslau believes that beauty will save the world, and poetry, cookies, and kindness. She lives in Fairhaven with her sweet husband and their many 4-legged creatures.
Shoshana D. Kerewsky is the author of “Cancer, Kintsugi, Camino: A Memoir,” “50 Days in May: Reflections Along the Camino de Santiago,” and the novel “The Codex of Christian Surname.”
Harvey Schwartz hitchhiked west in 1971 for a summer vacation and never returned. His life since has been sprinkled with magic that he tries to put in words.
Linda Conroy, a Bellingham poet and author of two poetry collections, likes to write about the complexities of human nature and our connection to the natural world.
Tyson Higel lives in Bellingham where he works as a nurse, tinkers with words, and is
learning, always, that there’s joy in simplicity. Reach out / read more at tysonhigel.com
Elizabeth Jane Pryce is a poet, “Wild Child”, (2010). Author of an early childhood memoir, “Chosen”, (2022). She currently writes a blog: bluebottleswritingstudio.com
J.I. Kleinberg lives in Bellingham, Washington, where she tears words out of magazines and stares at them until they turn into poems. Find out more at
https://chocolateisaverb.wordpress.com or on Instagram @jikleinberg.
Duncan Shields is an animator, writer, podcaster, and performer currently living in Vancouver BC, with his wife and daughter. He enjoys the rain and burritos, and he’s happy to be here.
Shannon Laws is the publisher of Corridor. NEW! “Tongue in Ink,” is available at Village
Books. She is a recipient of the 2026 Literary Citizenship Award.
shannonplawswriter.com
ARTISTS
Michelle Ballou is a poet and artist living in Bellingham, Washington. She likes to play with ink, paper, and words. The American Robin is her spark bird.
Kathleen A. McKeever has published two books of poetry, available at Village Books or the Bellingham Washington Public Library, “Lightbound” and “Body/Today.”
Jessica Pfundt is a local photographer who enjoys capturing PNW landscapes and the people within them. Her poetry is inspired by our human connection to our environments.
shannon p. laws 