About the Anthology
/dedicated to the memory of editor Robert Walter (1939-2014)
Recalled in a Different Light: 50 Years of Roanoke Review stands as a celebration of the many people who have brought our literary journal to life for the past five decades: the writers, editors, readers, supporters—all the typical suspects. There are several ways, however, that this is not the typical literary anthology.
Instead of presenting the book in traditional printed form, for example, we have opted to publish it as an online anthology that will grow monthly over the next several years. In that way, we will have the opportunity to highlight each contributor as their pages are released. This format also allows us to make the anthology free and globally accessible.
When possible, we have paired the original works by the authors with something more recently created (a sort of "then and now" feature), as well as statements discussing how their artistic concerns have changed over the years.
We are launching the anthology with a full facsimile of the introductory issue of Roanoke Review from the fall of 1967. That first issue, spearheaded by the Pulitzer prize-winning poet Henry Taylor and Roanoke College student Ed Tedeschi, included both established and emerging luminaries of the literary arts—R.H.W. Dillard, William Peden, Malcolm Cowley, William Jay Smith, James Seay, William Stafford, Kelly Cherry, Christine Schutt (then Costigan), David Slavitt (using the name Henry Sutton), and Lee Smith, among others.
The anthology also features interviews with past editors of the Review. Hannah Gardener, who served as content editor of Roanoke Review, spoke with Taylor, Tedeschi, and later editor Paul Hanstedt. The title of the anthology is borrowed from Hannah's interview with Henry. Although he was speaking in reference to the inspirations for his own poetry, his phrase "reacalled in a different light" seemed just about right for what we were hoping to do here.
This book is dedicated to the memory of Robert Walter, who was the journal's editor for 26 years. Professor Walter lives on in the fond recollections of many Review contributors, staff members, and students. I not only had the privilege of serving as an editorial assistant under Bob Walter during my undergraduate work at Roanoke College in the 1990s, but I also enjoyed having him as my professor for Introduction to Literary Analysis my freshman year. I can still hear his voice dramatically intoning the stressed bits as he taught us poetic scansion: "The WAY a CROW / shook DOWN on ME / the DUST of SNOW / from a HEMlock TREE...." To this day, Frost's "Dust of Snow" is one of the rare poems I can scan with any confidence—and it is one I always think of with a smile. I believe it fitting that we allow Professor Walter, who spoke with great eloquence, to be represented through his own words; we therefore will reprint in future months the introduction he wrote for the 30th anniversary issue of Roanoke Review in 1997.
Occasional notices about the anthology's featured writers will be included in our regular emails that go out twice a month. If you are interested in receiving these emails, you can sign up here.
If you have any questions, concerns, or memories about the Review you'd like to share, we'd love to hear from you. Please contact us at review@roanoke.edu or by regular mail at Roanoke Review, Miller Hall, Roanoke College, Salem VA 24153.
With thanks and good wishes,
- Mary Crockett Hill
Editor
Mary Crockett Hill
Editorial Assistants
Rebekah Beatty, Elizabeth Bullock, Catherine Cone, Hannah Gardner, Erin Keating, Zachary Margrave, Carolyn Marciniec, Alex Narducci, Sarah Raines, Abigail Rose, Olivia Samimy
Please note: the editorial staff has gone to great lengths in our attempts to track down the authors previously published by the journal. While successful for the most part, we have on occasion been unable to reach an author. In such cases, we will promptly respond to any questions or concerns from an author or the author's estate. Please contact us at review@roanoke.edu.
