Julie Ray Creative

It's been one year since the start of the devastating Eaton Fire that destroyed over 9,000 structures, including a disproportionate amount of homes in historic Black neighborhoods.

We were in the process of designing the digital Altadena Poetry Review's Anthology 2025 when the fires hit. In response, the Altadena Poetry Review put out a call for fire-related poems and images.

When we learned about the Batchelder Tiles that survived the fires, and the efforts to preserve them, we were inspired to include them as a design element alongside the poetry. Designed by Ernest A. Batchelder, a pioneer of the Arts and Crafts Movement in California, his tiles formed many of the fireplaces in Altadena and surrounding homes. Able to withstand extremely high temperatures, many of these tiles were still standing after the Eaton Fire.

JRC designer Jenni Pagano created a stunning e-book featuring a whopping 163 poems by 108 authors! Contributors include Poets Laureate, Pushcart Prize poetry nominees and winners, national and regional literary award winners, bloggers, writing professors, editors, and those relatively new to writing poetry.

The first section, "Before the Ashes," is dedicated to Peter J. Harris (Black Man of Happiness Project), Altadena Poet Laureate from 2022-2024. The second part, "After the Ashes," is dedicated to the victims and survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires.

Credits:
Lester Graves Lennon, Editor
Sehba Sarwar, Associate Editor
Funding from Altadena Library District and Altadena Library Foundation.

Read the Anthology at https://altadenapoetryreview.com/2025-anthology/

Must read! In the latest Borderlore from Southwest Folklife Alliance: "Boots on the Ground: A Pictorial of the Arizona Black Rodeo." Essay by Adiba Nelso and photos by Eryka Dellenbach.

Boots on the Ground: A Pictorial of the Arizona Black Rodeo - Borderlore Fashion comes in boots of every color and material, with every adornment, leg, and heel height at the Arizona Black Rodeo.