Welcome to Birdland Journal’s first issue of 2016!
This online journal celebrates the diverse voices from Laguna Writers, Birdland Retreats and workshops.

This year, we’re working with themes for each issue. For this one, our theme is creatures. Meet a diamond dog, and one who’s sure he’s a movie star, cunning cats, an escaping lobster; a proud stag, swarming insects, and a giant manta ray.

Our writers are: Christopher P. DeLorenzo. Joy Maulitz, Daniel Raskin, Sharon H. Smith, Merijane Block, Ken Linton, Jenny Clover Hacker, LiAnne Yu, and Matthew Abergel.

We invite and appreciate your comments on the pieces in this issue, and hope you are moved to share them with others via the social media icons below each story or poem.

Birdland Journal archives since October 2014 are available on this page.

Since 2009, Birdland Retreats in West Sonoma, California, has been hosting retreats and workshops. Visit www.savorsmith.com/birdland to see upcoming offerings.

We hope Birdland Journal inspires you to write, and to join our growing community of writers!

— Sharon H. Smith, Editor      — Merijane Block, Copy Editor