The Zed Review is cultural conversation — about people, time, nature, and love.
ZED is the spelled-out pronunciation of the letter “Z” in most places that speak English — other than the U.S. It’s the final letter of the English alphabet: an ending and a jumping off point.
ZED is a short name for Elizabeth. REVIEW is a critical appraisal. A formal assessment. A closer look.
We challenge ourselves to explore ourselves and our writing. We write poetry, essays and fiction.
ZED REVIEW includes work by Kansas City-based writers Elizabeth G. Howard and Eric Vajentic, and other guest writers.
Elizabeth G. Howard (aka Zed)
Elizabeth G. Howard writes essays, poetry, and literary journalism, often on topics that set people on edge.
She’s gotten comfortable with her innate ability to make others uncomfortable — and works hard to walk a fine line of compassion and truth. She’s on a mission to help more people love poetry.
A member of the transformative Writing Workshop of Kansas City (WWKC), Elizabeth is a 2023 Mid-American Arts Alliance Artist Leadership Fellow and a 2022 Artists Inc. Fellow. She holds residency at the Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow, and has taught writing at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT and University of Missouri, Kansas City. She can be found out in the wild pounding out Demand Poetry on her Olivetti.
Elizabeth — aka Zed, Beth, ebeth, lizzyho, eebaby, e, yo! etc. — was born in Iowa, worked at Disney World, untangled herself in KC, fell in love in London, raked and parented in Connecticut, and now calls Kansas City home. Again.
Her family keeps her heart beating.
Eric Vajentic
Eric Vajentic is a writer and explorer in search of truth, beauty, and connection, through the navigation of existential angst and the intersection of murky religious and philosophical boundaries.
Using a variety of tone and form, Eric shines light into the dark corners of love, spirituality, art, paradox and meaning. He has been a regular participant in the Writing Workshop of Kansas City (WWKC), a guest on the “Confessing Animals” podcast and a valued client of several area therapists.
He was born in Pennsylvania, grew up in Iowa and now resides in Kansas City with his wife and two sons. Eric has been rejected by most major literary journals, but remains an evangelist for the truth that the miracle of the creative spirit exists within everyone.
Why subscribe?
(there’s both paid and free options!)
We want you to
look forward to opening your email box again.
read more good writing
join in conversation with writers and feel engaged
get ok with reading poetry!
enjoy the discomfort of not knowing for sure the answers to big questions and living in the gray spaces of life.
When you subscribe, you get full access to the newsletter and website.
Stay up-to-date
Don’t stress. Everything comes to your email so you won’t miss anything.
All are welcome
We affirm and promote the inclusion and promotion of all people here, without regard to race, color, sex, disability, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, age, or socioeconomic status.
We recognize that our conversations may not be perfect, but we welcome feedback and comments that challenge us to think differently.
