In this volume, Constance Stadler and Rich Follett remind us that poetry is not some solitary, solipsistic pursuit. Rather, it is a dialogic and social activity, one that involves collaboration, and yes, competition, but most importantly a conversation among the living, and with those whose voices have long since been silenced, but still echo across the ages through words inscribed on pages. Here they demonstrate the literary power of language made visible, and memory made palpable, summoning the demons of trauma and the angels of delight. But most of all they show us the strength we can gain from communing with the muses that are available to all of humanity, if we would only open ourselves up to their inspiration, as Stadler and Follett have done.