One of the stories in this issue is called “A Place in the World,” and that phrase perfectly captures how I see the pieces in this issue cohering. How do you—do we, does anyone—find their place in the world? What happens if your place has already been determined or selected for you? What if you don’t like that place? What if your “place” is physical—but then you move? What if you feel like you have no place? These questions have been much on my mind lately as my family and I were displaced for several months because of the fires in our corner of California; they are all questions worth exploring in any medium, and I hope you will do so.
I usually talk about the written works in these notes because most issues are built around the themes I find in the writing, and the artwork follows. But the art we publish, and especially the art in this issue, is simply incredible—imaginative, skillful, beautiful, surprising. For instance, in Mountain and Trees, the mountain seems to be floating—or perhaps it is a lake. The ambiguity is unsettling and gives the piece a mysterious, magical quality. Or in Music to my Ear, I love how the curves of the violin visually echo the curves of the inner ear. Though I don’t have the space to talk about each piece, please spend time looking carefully at all of the art in this issue, noticing what the pieces make you feel or think and why.
Till next time,
