Nicole Yurcaba (Нікола Юрцаба) is a Ukrainian American of Hutsul/Lemko origin. Her poems and reviews have appeared in Appalachian Heritage, Atlanta Review, Seneca Review, New Eastern Europe, Euromaidan Press, Chytomo, and The New Voice of Ukraine. Nicole holds an MFA in Writing from Lindenwood University, teaches poetry workshops for Southern New Hampshire University, and is the Humanities Coordinator at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College. She also serves as a guest book reviewer for Sage Cigarettes, Tupelo Quarterly, Colorado Review, and Southern Review of Books. Her poetry collection, The Pale Goth, is available from Alien Buddha Press.  

 

Of the work featured here, Nicola  says:

 

‘In late Summer 2025, after attending the John Hewitt International Summer School, I began dating a writer from Dublin, Ireland (I live in the United States). We knew that long-distance would not be easy, and to pass the time during the months we could not be together, we developed small, daily and weekly rituals that helped not only pass the time. Those rituals also reminded us that one was thinking about the other. For me, writing poetry about navigating a new relationship, quietly falling in love with my boyfriend, and dealing with the challenges of a long-distance relationship became a ritual in itself.’