Introduction to Issue FIVE

A Note from the Editors

On the edge of this uncertain year, the words gathered in our fifth issue call back to origins and elements, to the forces of nature that might ground or send us adrift. These words commune with the wind, with blossoming trees and weathered wood, with gardens and stone, and above all, with water. Here, there are currents that can wash away the unwanted, moving easily into parched spaces and smoothing out cracks, if only for a moment. There are expanses that can stir up ancient feelings of unknowing and unrest, a sensation that can both invigorate and frighten. Issue Five is brimming with ripples and waves, reminding us that with flux also comes repetition, the ebb and flow of tides, the return of things lost and transformed. We hope you’ll join us for each rise and fall.

— Cara Downey & Erin Calabria

Issue Five image credits: all photographs featured in the issue’s table of contents were taken or provided by our contributors with the following exceptions: photo credit Jonathan Kaufmann for Aaron Magloire’s “Field Notes from Lewes, First Day of Spring”; photo credit set.sj via Unsplash for Chris Hardy’s “Seasoned”; photo credit Cara Downey for Sarah Freligh’s “Oh, the Water,” for Rachael Hershon’s “Everett, MA,” and for the issue cover.