Dear Fellow Readers and Writers,
As has been the case for the last few Letters From the Co-Editor, it feels impossible to say something that will adequately speak to this collective moment. Anything I write feels destined to fall short. Still, the pull to foster change, understanding, healing, and liberation is why many of us continue turning to literature; it isn’t a perfect balm, but it is an important one. This is especially true for Issue 11.2.
The work in this issue captures the multifaceted nature of what it means to be human—in isolation, in family, in community, in society. Many of these pieces are about everyday people carving out lives in a world full of barriers. And yet, even when the odds feel stacked, we keep going, for ourselves and others.
That is the real invitation of 11.2: to have the courage to see and sit with what is and to lean into what could be.
Thank you to the writers featured in this issue for sharing your work in a time that needs more imagination. And here’s to all of us who believe that creativity beckons us into a better world.
– Chelsea
Co-Editor, The Maine Review
