Editor's Note
Dear Reader,
In our home we’re celebrating the coming of a new year with hope and muddy hikes along a river that’s brimming with rain. Other than water falling on our drought-stricken town, there seems to be little cause for hope, as this year doesn’t feel so very different from the last. We stack the boxes of grief higher.
Yet I’m delighted to see that the magpies have returned to the playground outside the library where I spend my days. I think of the magpies as flying orcas. I’m no birder, but magpies seem to be substantially lacking in aerodynamics so I often pause, in my dashing about, to marvel at their ability to lift themselves from the tangle of trees again and again.
Regarding birds: In her interview with our interim art editor, Rick Ross, mixed-media artist Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad refers to herself as a bowerbird, a collector of treasures—including wool made of cat fur!—and we are awed by what she has created from her collection. Be sure to read her interview and see her art in a larger format.
I have to admit that when Rick (my spouse) offered to fill in as interim art editor, I was hesitant to accept. I love him dearly, but he is a straight, cis-ish, white man, and I wasn’t sure what kind of energy he’d bring to WTR. I should have known he’d be a great addition. I mean, I did marry the guy. It was his excellent idea to ask Oormila if she had enough art to fill the issue. She did, and she generously shared it with us!
Rick and I worked to find a hint of color or pattern in each image that complements a word, image or idea in each text. We’d love to hear what you think. Please let the contributors know what you think as well.
Meanwhile, the texts that our brilliant fiction and poetry editors have chosen for this issue speak to each other in ways that I didn’t fully see until they were all in one place. The beautiful words of .chisaraokwu., Barbara Daniels, Isabella Dela Cruz, Jade Hidle, Katherine Hoerth, Romana Iorga, Carolyn Oliver, Glenis Redmond, Lynne Schmidt, Hibah Shabkhez, Leticia Urieta, Cynthia White, Shannon K. Winston, and Angelique Zobitz invite us to reflect on our relationships with our parents, children, and ancestors, as well as our relationships with our bodies, cultures, and religions. I hope you enjoy reading these pieces as much as we enjoyed selecting them.
I want to end by returning to hope. I know hope, on its own, is not enough. Hope doesn’t ask anything of us, and like the magpie, hope won’t get anywhere without the hard, heavy work of wings. The pages you’ll find in West Trestle are filled with wingbeats, and we’re all lifting from the branches. Rising.
Patricia Caspers
Founding editor
In our home we’re celebrating the coming of a new year with hope and muddy hikes along a river that’s brimming with rain. Other than water falling on our drought-stricken town, there seems to be little cause for hope, as this year doesn’t feel so very different from the last. We stack the boxes of grief higher.
Yet I’m delighted to see that the magpies have returned to the playground outside the library where I spend my days. I think of the magpies as flying orcas. I’m no birder, but magpies seem to be substantially lacking in aerodynamics so I often pause, in my dashing about, to marvel at their ability to lift themselves from the tangle of trees again and again.
Regarding birds: In her interview with our interim art editor, Rick Ross, mixed-media artist Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad refers to herself as a bowerbird, a collector of treasures—including wool made of cat fur!—and we are awed by what she has created from her collection. Be sure to read her interview and see her art in a larger format.
I have to admit that when Rick (my spouse) offered to fill in as interim art editor, I was hesitant to accept. I love him dearly, but he is a straight, cis-ish, white man, and I wasn’t sure what kind of energy he’d bring to WTR. I should have known he’d be a great addition. I mean, I did marry the guy. It was his excellent idea to ask Oormila if she had enough art to fill the issue. She did, and she generously shared it with us!
Rick and I worked to find a hint of color or pattern in each image that complements a word, image or idea in each text. We’d love to hear what you think. Please let the contributors know what you think as well.
Meanwhile, the texts that our brilliant fiction and poetry editors have chosen for this issue speak to each other in ways that I didn’t fully see until they were all in one place. The beautiful words of .chisaraokwu., Barbara Daniels, Isabella Dela Cruz, Jade Hidle, Katherine Hoerth, Romana Iorga, Carolyn Oliver, Glenis Redmond, Lynne Schmidt, Hibah Shabkhez, Leticia Urieta, Cynthia White, Shannon K. Winston, and Angelique Zobitz invite us to reflect on our relationships with our parents, children, and ancestors, as well as our relationships with our bodies, cultures, and religions. I hope you enjoy reading these pieces as much as we enjoyed selecting them.
I want to end by returning to hope. I know hope, on its own, is not enough. Hope doesn’t ask anything of us, and like the magpie, hope won’t get anywhere without the hard, heavy work of wings. The pages you’ll find in West Trestle are filled with wingbeats, and we’re all lifting from the branches. Rising.
Patricia Caspers
Founding editor
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