Editors’ Note:
Dear Manastash Readers,
In our 33rd issue of Manastash, we are focusing on the theme, “Back to Roots.” In looking at our journal’s roots, T. Ellis reached out to founding member, Joseph Powell, a former professor at CWU and an author of seven books of poetry. He told us the first issue, published in 1990, was granted a budget of $500 by Dr. Donald Cummings and was hand-made by a small team of students and staff. The first cover, a drawing of a crow, was done by Mary Sullivan who was a graduate student in the art department. Later, Mary went on to become an important regional artist. Nance Bracken, also an artist, who worked in the library helped with the cover, layout, and design. Shannon Hopkins, a graduate student at the time, put a flier in all the teachers’ boxes asking for submissions. Together they laid it out, photocopied the pages, printed the cover, and stapled each one – very hands-on labor. That $500 didn’t go very far. Later on, Bobby Cummings helped increase the funding dramatically, allowing them to send the journal out to a printer; Abbott’s Printing in Yakima, the same printer we are using for this 33rd issue. This year’s editing and publishing teams have that same camaraderie, coming together to make something meaningful.
We found that the name Manastash comes from the Sahaptin word /má: maštaš/, possibly meaning “we are going root digging,” making this year’s issue even more relevant. In our root-digging this year, we start with appreciation for the indigenous land we are borrowing from the Kittitas Band of the Yakama Indians. Powell said he chose the name Manastash to honor the presence of Native Americans in the Kittitas Valley. Many of the canyons and creeks still bear Kittitas names – Taneum, Naneum, Umtanum, Manastash, and even the Yakima River. He also liked “the sound of the word which is an amphibrach and has some nifty repeat sounds; it even sounds poetic.”
Whether we are dealing with our families, our ancestors, or finding our own footing – we all have a need to understand where we came from so that we can confront where we are going. You will find this year’s submissions to be rooted in gratitude, connection, beauty, and pain. All the makings of good art.
T. Ellis & Lucy Otto
Managing Editors
Meet the Manastash 2023 Staff
Poetry – Prose – Visual Art