Editor's Letter
Masks... that thin extra skein we wear, a shield between danger and safety, the self and the world, the truth and the lie. In this year of pandemic, masks have become ubiquitous. In this issue, our contributors paint mask images of all kinds. The digital mask we wear from behind our screens. A death mask that follows a woman haunted by grief. The masks we inherit from our family. The mask of clouds across the sky after a volcanic eruption. The black confidentiality tape that masks an interrogation transcript. Masks are more than just the soft cloth that covers our mouths and noses, protecting us from COVID. We wear masks when we want to present a persona to the world. We wear masks to save us and to cloak us. As these pages illustrate, masks both prevent and protect. "2020 was the year of the mask." But we've always worn masks. 2020 was just the year everyone could see them on our faces. Masks, as we've learned this year, are everywhere. - April 2021
FictionRose Camden's Candlelight Vigil
Bernie Groves As the Legend Goes in 536AD
Kyle Lavelle Stay Hungry
Trevor Lisa Possums or: We Are All the Things We Hate
Tyler Odeneal ArtMASKS illustrations
L.A. Hawbaker |
NonfictionInstant Internet Girlfriend
Gina Twardosz Her Own Bedroom
Elizabeth S. Tieri PoetryThe Plague Letters
Kristy Bowen The Born Identity
Marc Meierkort |
