Kawsmouth was launched in 2012, a year the world was supposed to end but didn’t. This year feels no less volatile. If I’ve found one reliable antidote to feeling overwhelmed by 2017, it’s been communication — not soundbites or status updates, but thought-provoking articles and essays, images produced with care and attention, interviews, conversations, poems that invite multiple readings. Whatever this weird moment in history is, we want to be present for it, publishing positive, introspective and unconventional writing, photography and artwork.

Writing on Kawsmouth will continue to examine our region’s past and present, exploring the space and time in which we live, looking for the best ways through. “The Midwest is neither bridge, nor crossroads,” poet Jessica Baran writes. It’s also not an island. Kawsmouth will include original work by people who live in Kansas City as well as missives from those who have moved on, reports from friends in different countries and various at-large selections. 

We first started this project because we believed in the talent of the people around us, and because we knew that circle of friends, contributors and readers would necessarily expand. Five years, dozens of contributors and a short hiatus later, we feel a renewed sense of purpose and excitement about sharing new work. If you’re working on something that you think would be a good fit for us, we encourage you to write to kawsmouth@gmail.com. If you’d like to receive new issues by email (approx. every six weeks), please click here.

Thank you for your interest, and please keep in touch,

Lucas and Jennifer Wetzel