Letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
As I write this, the world has yet to return to “normal,” and somedays it seems it never will. But no matter how grim the world outside, at Glassworks we are privileged to experience outstanding stories and artwork that remind us the world is what we make it.
This is the second issue of Glassworks I've have had the opportunity to contribute to. For me, the core of Issue 22 lies in the complexity of human relationships. Sometimes they start out well and end badly. Sometimes they start out badly and end well. Our relationships--familial, platonic, romantic, and beyond--can influence us for our entire lives. Beyond our immediate relationships, the pieces in this issue also consider social structures and hierarchies: the way that humans see themselves in relation to others. In a time of incredible discord and suffering, these relationships are especially important.
Many of the wonderful pieces in this issue explore human connections and the contentions they can cause. “The Circumference of Something,” a striking poem by Barbara Alfaro musing on a disconnect between mother and daughter, “Planting Acorns” by Alexandria Reid, a fiction piece about moving on and making changes, “Enough to Build Your Castle,” a poem from Kaitlinn Rose outlining the details that become so important after the loss of a loved one.
As I write this, the world has yet to return to “normal,” and somedays it seems it never will. But no matter how grim the world outside, at Glassworks we are privileged to experience outstanding stories and artwork that remind us the world is what we make it.
This is the second issue of Glassworks I've have had the opportunity to contribute to. For me, the core of Issue 22 lies in the complexity of human relationships. Sometimes they start out well and end badly. Sometimes they start out badly and end well. Our relationships--familial, platonic, romantic, and beyond--can influence us for our entire lives. Beyond our immediate relationships, the pieces in this issue also consider social structures and hierarchies: the way that humans see themselves in relation to others. In a time of incredible discord and suffering, these relationships are especially important.
Many of the wonderful pieces in this issue explore human connections and the contentions they can cause. “The Circumference of Something,” a striking poem by Barbara Alfaro musing on a disconnect between mother and daughter, “Planting Acorns” by Alexandria Reid, a fiction piece about moving on and making changes, “Enough to Build Your Castle,” a poem from Kaitlinn Rose outlining the details that become so important after the loss of a loved one.
COVID-19 and the profound ways it has shaken us as a society and as individuals plays a role in Issue 22. A triptych of mixed-media artworks by C. Christine Fair, “Covid Lungs,” visually demonstrates the way the virus and the pandemic it ushered in has evolved over the last year. We are publishing this issue in March, one year after America (including Rowan) shut down, expecting to stay virtual for a month or two and return once the virus had died down. As the pandemic continues to ravage our country, indeed the entire world, the authors who submitted to Glassworks continued to document their experiences. Claire Scott’s nonfiction piece, “False Starts,” embodies what we have all experienced: the breakdown of family ties due to political differences, the inability to function at the levels we did pre-pandemic, the emotional fallout of being alone, worried, bored, questioning, wondering, “What will happen next?”
And what will happen next? No one knows. But I hope that as you read this issue, you will ask that question in a different context, as these incredible stories are impossible to put down!
As an editor, I would like to say thank you. Thank you to Katie Budris, our amazing Editor in Chief, an outstanding writer, and a strong woman. I am so humbled for the opportunity to be one of your interns, and I will be forever grateful to you for giving me the chance to work with Glassworks. Georgia, my fellow spring intern and friend, I’m thrilled we have this chance to work together, and to be privy to your amazing writing and photography. To our issue contributors, thank you for continuing to create and submit your work during these crazy times. We’re honored to feature your work in Issue 22. Finally, to you, our readers, thank you for picking up this issue and continuing to support Glassworks.
May all of us see more peaceful times.
Marissa Stanko
Associate Editor
And what will happen next? No one knows. But I hope that as you read this issue, you will ask that question in a different context, as these incredible stories are impossible to put down!
As an editor, I would like to say thank you. Thank you to Katie Budris, our amazing Editor in Chief, an outstanding writer, and a strong woman. I am so humbled for the opportunity to be one of your interns, and I will be forever grateful to you for giving me the chance to work with Glassworks. Georgia, my fellow spring intern and friend, I’m thrilled we have this chance to work together, and to be privy to your amazing writing and photography. To our issue contributors, thank you for continuing to create and submit your work during these crazy times. We’re honored to feature your work in Issue 22. Finally, to you, our readers, thank you for picking up this issue and continuing to support Glassworks.
May all of us see more peaceful times.
Marissa Stanko
Associate Editor
