Midsummer
A Note from The Editors:
This edition of Midsummer explores the theme of Heat. Heat in emotions, heat in the weather, Heat in the mundane and fantastical. It was important to us to find pieces that resonated and were flexible in their use of the motif. Elise Marie Cleva’s “Jalapeño Essay” uses heat to showcase the fragile bonds of family, Brandon Mead presents heat in a fresh and almost comical way, blending it seamlessly with love’s ability to change one’s perceptions in “The World’s Hottest Pepper”, and Laila Covington’s “Zephyr and The Sea” is almost playful in its interaction with heat, revealing a small world of changes and choices. These pieces coupled with the amazing visual art from Saba Akram and Angelina Ribeiro Jones beautifully show the multifaceted view of Heat.
A Note from The Editors:
Our second volume of Midsummer introduces the concept of Ardor; of the warmth of youth and restless energy. Our hope for this volume was for authors and artists to explore the world around them through this lens of simultaneous passion and yearning, to push beyond and search within for that which motivates them in a reckless and vibrant new way. To face that which they may have shied away from due to the strength of the emotions. Our hope is that our readers will feel these emotions as well as they explore this volume.
Autumnal Equinox
A Note from The Editors:
Autumnal Equinox Vol. 1 revolves around Mabon, which is the name of a modern pagan holiday that celebrates the autumnal equinox, coined by Aidan Kelly in the 1970s in reference to Mabon ap Modron. We asked authors and artists to consider the themes of the autumnal equinox, such as balance, death, rebirth, grief, gratitude, and reflection, and what those themes awaken in them. The chosen pieces interact with one another in a variety of unique and memorable ways. We encourage the reader to experience all the emotions this volume evokes, regardless if the emotion is not a happy one. Every experience and way of understanding is encouraged and meant to be recognized. Accept how you feel and how these pieces move through you. It is all we could ask for.
A Note from The Editors:
In our second volume of Autumnal Equinox, we turn to the theme of Heraldry; the symbols we inherit, the stories we carry, and the marks we make in return. Traditionally associated with lineage and legacy, heraldry offers a language through which identity is both preserved and proclaimed. In this volume, we invited artists and writers to explore not only the outward signs of allegiance and belonging, but the inner landscapes of memory, family history, and the quiet weight of inheritance.
What does it mean to carry forward a name, a story, a scar? How do we reckon with the emblems passed down to us, chosen or unchosen, and how might we reshape them into something newly our own? Through this lens, heraldry becomes more than pageantry; it becomes a deeply personal act of remembering, reimagining, and claiming.
We hope that as you move through these pages, you feel the pull of history and the spark of invention; and perhaps recognize in these works a mirror to your own ties, both to the past and to what lies ahead.
Midwinter
A Note from The Editors:
This Midwinter, we chose Languor as our theme as we recognize the hibernating nature of the season and how difficult it can be for people to find moments of joy in the dark half of the year. As we approached the longest night, we asked authors and artists to find the peaceful periods of stillness and inertia around them, reminiscent of softly falling snows inherent quietude. We hope this issue offers readers a moment of brightness amidst the darkness.
Vernal Equinox
A Note from The Editors:
This Vernal Equinox is a Renaissance! It embodies the spirit of rebirth, revival, and the thrill of reinvention. We encouraged our writers and artists to delve deep, to challenge what this means to them, and to celebrate the change that is intrinsic to life as the world blossoms anew around us. We urge our readers to do the same. Let us reflect on what has been with warmth, and welcome the oncoming unknown, embracing all of its challenges and uncertainties with open hearts and open minds.
Skeleton Flowers Press 