Alternative Paysage
| Contributors:
Aislyn Franciscovich, Ammara Elsevier, Anastasiya Shyvilka, Carly Cassidy McClear, Caroline Otto, C. P. de León-Franzen, Ella Leafgreen, Emma Oillarburu, Hanna Mason, Ivy Cobbs, Jack Whelahan, Kennedy Cull, LaPaula Parker, Linnea Jones, Mackenzie Saunders, Maisie Long, Maren Stroup, Nicola Hunt, Ryan Steenbuck, Skye Petersen, Violeta Baez
Letter From the Editor
Dear Reader,
Welcome to your new landscape, a departure from expectations. Here, we promote autonomy in a strange land.
Possibilities abound. Every choice comes with a trade-off. A path trod is another lost to wistfulness. Once we set out, going back is not an option, we must move forward. Each step solidifies our decisions. Taking an unconventional route provokes challenges… and questions. Defying traditional norms is daunting, there is no guideline to follow.
Though we may find ourselves far from the comforts we knew, a home is built wherever we bare our heart. Discomfort can be attributed to strangeness, and commonality is easier to find than we might think. Stories build bridges, both telling our own and listening to those of others. What we share often finds its way back.
It is far too facile to conform, to make ourselves small, to fit in. As the contributors to this issue show, the unknown is ripe with opportunity; there are an abundance of trails, a multitude of perspectives, and infinite interpretations. This collection of work includes tales of heartbreak, stories of delight, and unique outlooks. This is a place to relate through our differences, and to see just how similar we really are.
Our contributors reveal their visions of the world and their place in it. They show us the images that flit across the undelved caverns of their minds, the thoughts that span the depths of their characters. Creativity was left to shine within unusual genres, fantastic landscapes, and fever dreams.
As you peruse the reality herein, I have only one question: how do you meander through your alternative paysage?
Sincères salutations,
Charles P. DeLeon-Franzen
