A collection of fiction, poetry, and art from the first five issues of Bracken.

What is your connection to the woods? For me, it’s mud-caked wellington boots after long walks through the English countryside, the earth damp and wormy and stamped with leaves, littered with plump chestnuts. It’s hushed journeys into Floridian woods, heart racing at the thought of alligator eyes watching from still, green water, everything painted with the dusty finish of sunlight filtered through Spanish moss. It’s the thick mist and springy moss of the Pacific Northwest, and towering cedars and firs stained black with lightning, and the whisper of crow wings above. There’s a reason storytelling has long found inspiration in the woods, whether as symbol or as setting. We’ve selected and arranged work from past issues in a way that we think truly embodies Bracken’s spirit. Just as the girl on our cover is emerging from the tangle of branches into the light, we want to let these pieces guide you from the forest’s edge, through its depths, and out the other side. We hope you’ll find something along the way.

-Charlotte d’Huart, Anthology Editor