Ten years is long and short. It’s this and that. It’s Hall & Oates. Eheu!
I was working the drive-thru window of a credit union when I decided two things. One, I hated working there. Two, I should start a literary magazine. It’s not an amazing story, but it’s the truth. It took me another two years and one move later to finally make it happen. petrichor was originally Jazz Cigarette, a phrase I later learned came with an ugly past. Rather than completely start fresh, I republished the first six issues under a new banner, petrichor, suggested by an associate editor (thanks, Neapolitan). We prefer it all lowercase, but we try not to fuss too much about it.
There have been some . Inviting contributors to the first issue, and that they said ‘yes.’ Reading for the very first call for submissions. Getting spammed early on by a known lit menace. Perusing a treasure trove of Daniel Johnston’s unpublished art shared by his brother Dick for the cover of issue four. Seeing familiar poets’ names in the inbox and going ‘oh cool.’ Finding incredible work from first-time writers. Working with friends as associate editors, getting new insights on work I was on the fence abut. Interviewing Michael Betancourt on glitch, art objects, and the ephemeral for issue twenty-five. Somehow staying out of most lit twit drama (not that hard actually). Editing our micropoems series Pebbles, our issues within the issues. Seeing Sy Hoahwah’s work from issue eighteen in Best of the Net. Seeing contributors’ work in the inaugural edition of the Monarch Queer Literary Awards.
In a decade, some of our writers and artists have left this earth. We remember Catherine Vidler, Daniel Johnston, Adrian C. Louis, Carl Sennhenn, Hugh Tribbey, Jim Leftwich, Jennifer Martelli, and any other previous contributor who may no longer be with us.
So many thanks to Colton Rowe, my first co-editor, Sabrina Yackeyonny, Philip Harrington, Aaron Rudolph, the trashbirds Sydney and Michelle, Jen Hudgens, and to Blaize, Kellyn, Ruth, Nick, Anna, Korey, Kaz, and Mary.
And all my gratitude to Caleb and Amanda for all of their help. It is a joy to work with you.
And to all contributors past and present, and all the wonderful folks who’ve helped out over the years.
So here it is: petrichor 30, our 10th anniversary, with new work from both new folks and some familiar names. Will there be another ten? I don’t know what longevity or posterity means in an age where writing within the archives feels more and more like painting a wall while a fire is spreading down the hall. But for now, the color really accents the tile.
Yawp it up.
–Seth Copeland, Milwaukee, April 2026.