I’m writing this introduction on June 27, 2015, one day after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. I am sitting alone at my desk still trembling, my eyes literally springing tears of joy. This ruling, making same-sex marriage a right nationwide, has made me giddy, has brought me peace, has made me shout “Yessss!” at the top of my lungs. These reactions stem from the simple truth that the Supremes got it right and therefore, we as a society get to take a little credit for actually getting one right. So often lately it seems we have been getting things oh-so-very-wrong. I have aspirations for us, not just as writers, but as human beings. I want to see more truth, more beauty, more justice, more tolerance, more love. I want to see more open minds and open hearts. I don’t want to see racism ever, ever again. There is so much wrong with our world, so much to despair. But there is also hope in the air.
All of this makes for so much raw emotion, emotion that feeds great writing, writing that challenges each of us to view the world through a new set of eyes. So let’s all pick up our pens, shall we?
We have another stunning issue this month, featuring the pitch-perfect Kim Chinquee and Wendy C. Ortiz, who never fail to dazzle with the implications of their narratives, and who, in their respective interviews, share themselves generously and provide great insight to how they approach their awe-inspiring work.
In “Marque and Reprisal,” Anthony J. Mohr illustrates the danger pulsating inside our thermometer of fear. Thaddeus Rutkowski teases us, “wraps our minds around a paradox or two” with his pieces “At the Door” and “One Arm Hugging.” Bobby Sauro wraps things up, showing us the only road out of town in “Uncle Jim,” and in “The Autobiography of Blue,” he saturates us in color, leaving us wanting more.
I hope that each of you reading finds this issue as honest and beautiful as I do.
