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Another note from the Executive Poobah:

Oh, how the litter of Piggies is growing.

Haute Dish is growing in every way possible, and I couldn’t be happier or more proud. We had the talent and hard work of our regular (but never taken for granted) editorial staff of Kristin Johnson, Eric Miklasevics, Diane Bennion, and of course Suzanne Nielsen. To add to the fun, we had Josiah Titus and Erin Hoffman join us for the Summer issue as volunteers. We promptly threw a stack of submissions at each of them and said, “Root, hog, or die.” They took to the challenge with gusto and this issue of Haute Dish reflects that. Felicia Chong joined us as Apprentice WebGoddess. She’ll be working with Sara McDonald, our current WebGoddess in order to take over for the Fall edition. Lastly, we added Nate Thomas as a new Literary Editor to join our staff for the Fall issue to help with the transition.

Transition, you say? As Buddha said, the only constant is change. I end my tenure as Executive Poobah with the publication of the Fall issue and Kristin Johnson will take over for the semester. When she graduates that December, Eric Miklasevics will put on the big fez. I promised Suzanne and a few others that I would help out as Poobah Emeritus, but if they actually need my help, I’ll have failed in my job of getting Haute Dish revived and thriving again.

My only goal with Haute Dish, the only thing I want from any of this for myself is to be able to come back in ten years and meet the new incoming Executive Poobah of Haute Dish. I want her (or him!) to tell me about new initiatives and projects, about outreach programs and the awards our writers have won over the years. I want to hear about how every professor in the College of Liberal Arts and First College fight to get their students published in Haute Dish because it is the premiere student publication in the metro, in the Midwest, and even in the country. Ten years from now I want professors who have never heard of me or even know why we restarted publication of Haute Dish to tell their students how important it is to submit their works. I want this online literary journal to become a living, growing, organic thing and if that thing changes beyond my recognition, then I say Huzzah! I want Haute Dish to be more than I left it in ways I couldn’t even imagine possible.

We sure had a good start towards that goal this semester. We had more than fifty literary submissions and more than 25 visual art submissions. All were very good. Some were great. A very few were outstanding. You’ll find them yourself. And when those submissions reach you and touch you and move you like they did me, I want you to write down your story. Send it to me. Let me read your story.

It’s your story that will be the center of the Fall issue. The theme for the Fall issue is “One thing about me.” One thing noone knows, one thing everyone knows but only you know the truth about, one thing about you that hasn’t happened yet but you really want it to, one thing about the you that you want to be someday. One thing about you. Your story can be funny or sad or thrilling or true or not true or all of them put together, but above all it must be brave. Be brave and be genuine and be authentic and we will fight to make space for publication of your story. Hide behind artifice and when your piece comes up for approval, it’ll get…that look. So be brave and tell me that unique one thing about you.

I’ll be invoking Saint Benedict’s Rule and my Executive Poobah privilege for the Fall issue. I am including my own story in the Fall issue as a wee bit of cathartic self-indulgence, for not only do I hand off the fez of Executive Poobahship but I also graduate from Metro State at the end of the Summer.

So I’ll make you a deal, ok? You tell me one thing about you, and I’ll tell you one thing about me.

The Spring 2005 Issue of Haute Dish is dedicated to my Piggies: Kristin, Eric, Diane, Sara, and Suzanne. Without you, I never would have found the art inside of myself. Thank you so very much.