Refugia of the Imagination: Kathleen Dean Moore,
Steelies: Rebecca Conrad Lawton,
Remnant / Newsies / At This Moment: Carlos Reyes,
The Emperor’s New Clothes: Farhad Khoyratty,
Cover: Laura Kaltenstein,
“A fast-moving storm zeroed in on Sitka recently, its west winds gusting to more than 60 miles per hour, wreaking havoc in one of our harbors. Boat owners scrambled to secure their boats and help each other hold things fast, but the heaving, thrashing chaos snapped mooring lines, popped fenders, broke cleats, sank two boats, and set others adrift. No one expected the force of the gale. Few remembered seeing anything like it here.
In the storm’s aftermath, I took a walk in a local park at dusk, seeking quiet, calm. I found it along the river that runs through the trees, its water dark and clear, its constant rambling flow a steady shushing sound. Across the nearest channel, clustered against a grassy bank, a dozen mallards silently plied the shallows where the moving water slowed and lingered…
Refuge: a place of safety. These ducks sought it. I sought it. The boat owners in the harbor sought it. As global changes press upon us, refuge will become more and more important. But refuge is not only a place of safety. It is a place where creativity is free to express itself and new things can emerge. It is the place where we test our firmest commitments to see how they hold ground. It is the place where we allow ourselves to laugh at ourselves, to try out fledgling ideas. It is the place from which we push back against the pressures of reality. It is a source of well-being so critical to our own resilience.
The pieces in this issue touch into these notions of refuge…”