The Spring Equinox Issue
Although sharply different in focus, each of the features here offers interesting takes on spatial relationships. William Morgan’s photo essay on New England burying grounds considers what is below the surface and above. Jeanne Lemkau contrasts the infinity of space and the hugeness of glaciers to the comparatively miniature scale of humanity. In “The Stoplight,” poet Suzanna de Baca considers the expansion of a generic American town. The pharmacist protagonist of Michael L. Gray’s short story escapes to the bounded wilderness, hoping to survive both the pandemic and social conformity. James Penha’s poem evokes the small world of the childhood sickbed, contrasting the gestures of fingerpainting with the oximeter that measures oxygen saturation in the adult body, pulling our attention to the suggestion of lung disease. And Jill Pesce’s intense monologue offers a fierce look at an interior world cut off from the community at large.
In this issue we also witness writers assessing the damage and trauma of the Covid pandemic. Covid, for now, is in the rear-view mirror. What lies ahead remains to be seen. What crises are on the horizon?
March 19, 2024
Selma Moss-Ward
Editor