Thursday Nov 21

On Hiatus

A Note from Robert Clark Young, CNF Editor: October, 2012

This month I present four of the most emotionally affecting pieces it’s ever been my privilege to publish.  We begin by introducing Richard Brea, a powerful writer who makes his publishing debut with “My Teenage Life: My Battle With Depression.”  We owe this fine new writer our full attention, just as we owe everyone who suffers from depression our full compassion.
 
Erika Trafton’s “Independence Day” sketches a deathly metaphysic that will dazzle readers with its skillful play of our emotions.  Yes, the material is strong, but a lesser writer would not have been able to evoke, dramatize, and assemble it in a way that has the magnificent impact of Trafton’s fine work.
 
Kevin Ridgeway’s “Season of the Witch” is just as intense, just as real, and just as spooky.  Ostensibly a father-son story, it ultimately asks us to question how well we know anyone, even those closest to us.  True, few of us may find ourselves in the familial situation of this particular narrator.  But you just never really know about the people around you—do you?
 
A good way to round out this month’s excursion into intensity is with an intense consideration of eternal values and themes.  Patti Knox provides us with just such a sojourn in “Sunsprite.”  It’s all here—family, loss, death, rejuvenation, redemption, gratitude.  Let the first three essays rattle you in their satisfying ways, then lose yourself in the affirmation provided by Knox’s excellent work.