Welcome to the premiere issue of 3rd Muse Poetry Journal. We've been in a bit of a rush here for the last few days, trying to get the issue out by the 1st, and it is exciting to have made it. Our aim is for 3rd Muse to be a monthly publication, and we are commited to that task given enough support from contributors.

It has in fact, already been most heartening to receive the support that we have so far. Approximately 30 submissions in the three weeks the journal has been advertised in less than a handful of places, feels like a nice achievement. It's certainly better than what I had realistically expected, and very, very encouraging. I would like to sincerely thank everyone who took the time to submit their work for this issue, especially as it had to be done completely on faith. With issue 1 now out and people having a chance to enjoy and assess the work herein, I hope that the support will continue and only grow.

As for the work inside this issue, I only want to say that I am very excited about it and feel priviledged to have been given the chance to display it.

Huge thanks to Mary Beth Lowes for the design and the initial drawing of the 3rd Muse logo. I look forward to her contributing more artwork for future issues of the journal.

Enjoy the first issue, and here's hoping for many more to come.

Mark Melton
Editor,
3rd Muse Poetry Journal