Marilyn Gardner successfully helped us resurrect Among Worlds, our magazine for and by TCKs. She managed to do this while living in Kurdistan half a world away from the rest of the Interaction staff, and while in the throes of transition as she moved across the globe. We are so thankful for the leadership, vision, and grit she brought to Among Worlds.
Marilyn’s unexpected transition back to the US and new job responsibilities pushed her past her capacity to include editing Among Worlds in her regular rhythms. The simple word, “Thanks” does not feel sufficient to express the depths of our gratitude for her contribution to Among Worlds and to Interaction International over the last year. Marilyn will continue to support Among Worlds through her ideas, writing and networks. Thank you for giving your time and yourself to Among Worlds and the TCK community, Marilyn.
In January Rachel Hicks stepped into Marilyn’s pêlav (that’s shoes for you non-Kurdish speakers) as the new editor of Among Worlds. Rachel comes with her own TCK bona fides. She is a second generation TCK rearing third generation TCKs. Born in the foothills of the Himalayas, Rachel bookended her childhood in India. The chapters in-between are filled with tales from Pakistan, Jordan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Hong Kong. After marrying her college sweetheart, she managed to live in exotic Phoenix, Arizona for seven years. Rachel, her husband, and their two children moved to Chengdu, China for another seven years before settling in Baltimore Maryland in mid-2013.
Rachel is a writer and editor par excellence in her own right, her poetry and fiction have appeared in The Briar Cliff Review, Little Patuxent Review, Relief, St. Katherine Review, Off the Coast, Gulf Stream, and other journals. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee and the winner of the 2019 Briar Cliff Review Fiction Prize. She is also an associate editor at Del Sol Press and served as the 2018 Poetry Out Loud Regional Coordinator for the Maryland State Arts Council. She works as a freelance copy editor whose clients include authors, companies, and nonprofit organizations. Her career has included teaching (high school English and homeschool) and volunteering with an international relief and development agency. She uses her writing to explore themes of loss and suffering, worldview and its consequences, and bearing witness to others’ pain and human dignity.
We are thrilled Rachel has found a “home” with us and Among Worlds! We look forward to reading more of her writing, seeing how she orchestrates future issues of the magazine, and how she adds to the community of global nomads. Please join us in welcoming Rachel to Interaction International and Among Worlds!