"A milestone, this issue of Writers’ Forum -- our twenty-fifth production; our silver anniversary
issue. When my friend and former colleague Alex Blackburn began his venture, I doubt that even
he -- visionary optimist though he was in those years -- imagined that it would enjoy such
durability. (His hilarious account of the journal’s origin is printed in Higher Elevations: Stories
from the West.) Yet, a quarter-century later, here we are. It has not been only a longer story than
I would have supposed; this magazine has maintained a higher quality than perhaps anyone
might have supposed. The list of the writers who appeared in these pages early in their careers
and then went on to attain prominence is truly too long to repeat entirely here. However, even a
partial listing would have to include (the order is alphabetical): Charles Baxter, Robert Ollen
Butler, Ron Carlson, Fred Chappell, Robert Greer, Joy Harjo, Linda Hogan, Bruce Kawin, Yusef
Komunyakaa, Craig Lesley, Bret Lott, Paul Scott Malone, Victoria McCabe, Walter McDonald,
Robert Roripaugh, Reg Saner, William Stafford, Gladys Swan, Sherri Szeman, and Bill
Tremblay. Hundreds of recent books and a dozen or more prestigious awards are presented in
that list. It is surely one to be proud of and one that, in turn, makes the University of Colorado at
Colorado Springs proud of the now retired Professor Blackburn." -- Conway Kenneth Pellow,
Editor, Writers’ Forum 25 (1999)
"A milestone, this issue of Writers’ Forum -- our twenty-fifth production; our silver anniversary
issue. When my friend and former colleague Alex Blackburn began his venture, I doubt that even
he -- visionary optimist though he was in those years -- imagined that it would enjoy such
durability. (His hilarious account of the journal’s origin is printed in Higher Elevations: Stories
from the West.) Yet, a quarter-century later, here we are. It has not been only a longer story than
I would have supposed; this magazine has maintained a higher quality than perhaps anyone
might have supposed. The list of the writers who appeared in these pages early in their careers
and then went on to attain prominence is truly too long to repeat entirely here. However, even a
partial listing would have to include (the order is alphabetical): Charles Baxter, Robert Ollen
Butler, Ron Carlson, Fred Chappell, Robert Greer, Joy Harjo, Linda Hogan, Bruce Kawin, Yusef
Komunyakaa, Craig Lesley, Bret Lott, Paul Scott Malone, Victoria McCabe, Walter McDonald,
Robert Roripaugh, Reg Saner, William Stafford, Gladys Swan, Sherri Szeman, and Bill
Tremblay. Hundreds of recent books and a dozen or more prestigious awards are presented in
that list. It is surely one to be proud of and one that, in turn, makes the University of Colorado at
Colorado Springs proud of the now retired Professor Blackburn." -- Conway Kenneth Pellow,
Editor, Writers’ Forum 25 (1999)
