Safe to Chew

The success of this collection will be measured by whether or not you find yourself smiling with a tilt of your head and musing to yourself, "I never would have thought of that." Certainly, this is a new and ambitious undertaking for Wicwas Press. Our focus and notoriety in recent years has been on information surrounding the industrious, beloved, mysterious honey bee and the art of its keeping. We've met with thousands of beekeepers, authors, scientists and enthusiasts, all of whom have been drawn together by a spark of curiosity and inspiration-and inspiration takes many forms. Within these pages, we have attempted to capture and cultivate that inspiration in a series of essays, poems and stories around the theme of beekeeping. Our contributors are not necessarily writers or beekeepers, though many are or will soon find themselves both. We invited their participation in the first ever Wicwas Press anthology with the belief that "every beekeeper has a story to tell" and we were not disappointed. With over 200 unique submissions to the effort by people from all walks of life, we are humbled by your response. We extend our thanks to everyone who participated, perhaps especially to those bold individuals whose works did not make the final cut. Every submission brought with it unique elements and, ultimately, I hope that we have gathered the most outstanding representatives of these diverse expressions. These collected works present themes spanning the breadth of all beekeepers' experiences and imagination, including stories that explore beekeeping through the generations, the joyful innocence natural curiosity, and curious flights of fancy, as well as some of the darkness they experience.