Change cannot be circumvented. It wills us, not in some oblique, deterministic arrangement or undisclosed metaphysical resolve. It creates us as we create it, willfully; positioned somewhere between effortless thought and complex expression. Indeed, one can immerse in the warmth of the summer sun and hope that it will never set. For us, it fabricates an immediate childish wish to crystallize a single moment in time and space, a snapshot for our soular selves.
Yet, in a few short hours, the sun will set; leaving us to face the dim, the dark, and obscure the spaces that might have offered us comfort during those hours when light fell without care. Now shadows consume, and nature has willed change. And in a few months, the kindness of the sun will be a faded recollection as summer bows to autumn. Leaves and foliage once lush and green and determined by way of phototropism, will yield a patchwork of reds, golds, browns and yellows—symbols of change.
Akin to the seasons, everything changes, despite our conscious and routinely unconscious attempts to render our existence as homeostatic scrap. Whether good or bad, change comes. It is the hand we are dealt. We are the creators. And as writers we must recognize the tremendous responsibility we shoulder each time we strike a key or issue a willful command such as “CtrlAltDelete”.
In the spirit of starting over, our authors this quarter offer insightful, stirring and unfiltered tales of life, fantasy and those familiar places in between.
Jeffrey Condran, an English professor and writer, delivers a haunting and deliberate account of domestic abuse and its consequences on a young couple in “One Flight Up.”
Writer Jason Falcione’s examination of an unstable mind follows his protagonist full circle in the conclusion of “The Survivor.”
Trade magazine editor and freelance writer, Joann Cantrell’s poem “Much, Too Much to Bear” is a poignant tribute to her bother.
Poet Rebecca Hoover’s keen prose underscores the relevance of holding on to your dreams in “Riding the Waves.”
Martha Reed, published novelist and president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Sisters in Crime, shares some tested advice on persevering as writer.
Take a look through the lens of photographer Maria Boada as she captures breathtaking images from Pittsburgh and beyond.
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Remember: submissions for the October 15 eZine are being accepted through September 30.
