From The High Line

oil on canvas, 24" by 30"

Alice Dvoskin

Alice presents an elevated promenade on the West Side of Manhattan, conveying the mix of architectural styes, the old and the new with the presence of the iconic Empire State Building in the scene, as well as the irresistible contrast of the warm brick and stucco of the older structures with the cool blue glass of the modern buildings.

Dear Readers,

Enjoy our cover presentation of the exuberance of one of Alice Dvoskin's colorful cityscapes, an elevated promenade on the West Side of Manhattan, a different perspective of the city she loves and appreciates for fostering her artistic inclinations. Interest comes in the mix of architectural styles, the old and the new, with the presence of the iconic Empire State Building in the scene. Alice, with a Bachelor of Arts and a minor in Fine Arts from Queens College of the City of New York, is a practicing psychologist with a Ph.D. degree in psychology from the University of Maryland. She has studied painting her entire life and has actively exhibited her oil paintings for seven years. While some of her paintings are plein air, much of her work has been painted in the studio from sketches and photographs created during her wanderings, capturing the unique landscapes, people and architecture of nearby and distant locales with an emphasis on the interplay of color and light. For more work by Alice, click here.

As the leaves descend to remind us it's already fall again, I note how that myriad of colors and shapes reminds me of the eclectic vision of The Cortland Review. In this issue are stupid jobs, swans, shooting stars, salt kisses and silverfish in contributions from both seasoned writers and some who have never published online before. TCR thanks its poetry and fiction editors for their discriminating selections as well as all of its contributors, not only for trusting The Cortland Review with their work, but for the extra effort they make to provide audio recordings. Remember that Flash Player is your vehicle to these poetic voices, and if it's not already downloaded on your computer, download it here.

Not only will you want to listen to the poets read their fine poems here, but you'll want Flash Player when we excitedly present Stephen Dunn as our December feature in print, audio, and HD video, along with 25 of his wonderful poet friends.

TCR congratulates itself for the wisdom and good luck in bringing on board Eric Ellenberg, brand new Web Manager extraordinaire as we wave a sad and fond goodbye to Greg Nicholl who's managed our website so well here four years, keeping the bar high, both aesthetically and technically. To Eric, a smart, young web guy who also loves poetry: Welcome aboard. To Greg: We hold your commitment to TCR dear and appreciatively wish you every good thing. It's Eric, along with the rest of our staff, Amy MacLennan, Jennifer Wallace, Anna Catone, Christian Gullette, Elizabeth Cornell, and Natalie Baszile, that make The Cortland Review possible six times a year. If one of them is a friend of yours, drop them a note to say thanks. And The Cortland Review would not exist without the genius of Guy Shahar, its founder, now writer/director of Priority Films and our HD director and producer. Don't forget to become a fan of The Cortland Review on Facebook. Drop us a note there, too.

If you're skilled in website design or web management, consider a volunteer role with The Cortland Review and e-mail your resume with a cover letter to [email protected]. You can be a TCR hero, too, by purchasing any amazon.com book title via a TCR link. Each book title mentioned in our pages and in our contributors' bios is linked directly to amazon.com. Just enter the amazon.com website via any TCR link and buy any book in their inventory. We appreciate the support we get through your book purchases, and we'll use that money to meet you personally at AWP.