Bridges connect worlds and expand boundaries, allowing connections of spirit and the mingling of cultures and people. Emanuel Swedenborg understood the profound value, the absolute necessity, of an intimate connection between the spiritual and material worlds. This interdependence connects our worldly lives with our deepest feelings and thoughts.

The seventeenth installment of the Swedenborg Foundation's annual anthology, the Chrysalis Reader, focuses on the connections that we make between this world and the next. Writers from all walks of life share their poetry, short fiction, and essays on the experiences that bring us together or set us apart, illuminating the many and varied kinds of bridges in our lives.

Robert F. Lawson’s poetry has appeared in Three Rivers Poetry Journal, Salt Lick, Plum Review, Phoenix, Negative Capability, Lullwater Review, Kalliope, Hampden-Sydney Poetry Review, and others.  He is currently the major gifts and planned giving officer for the Maine Public Broadcasting Network.  A co-editor for the Chrysalis Reader and former editor for Simon & Schuster, Lawson does freelance editing and writing consultation as time permits.

Carol S. Lawson holds a master’s degree in creative writing and literature from Bennington College. Her long and varied career in publishing has included editing a medical journal for Harper & Row, publications work for the U.S. Public Health Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, and the executive editor position at the American Birding Association. Currently, she and her daughter provide publishing services to nonprofit groups via Scholarly & Specialized Publishing.