Dear Reader,
It goes without saying what a pair of years itās been. I know weāre all tired of talking about it.
Itās okay to acknowledge that āa new normalā like the one weāve been attempting a return to doesnāt exist. For that to come about, there had to be a ānormalā to base it on in the first place. But the human experience is round, brilliant, with infinite twinkling facets. Our world shifts, person to person, evolves and transforms with each set of blinking eyes. We thought we shared a world. What we share is space. Going back to whatever the ānormal worldā was may not make sense any longer; weāve all changed in ways we didnāt expect during the course of our often overwhelming shared experience. But we can, and will continue to, share space.
I guess my goals, as I worked on putting together this issue, speak to that. I wanted to hold and share space. In āBahĆa Solano,ā Benjamin Faro puts it well: āGeography/isnāt the only thing/that separates us.ā It feels like more and more is added to the list every day. I donāt usually feel like I have answers to anything. But the thing that has always made me feel more fully present in myself, is tossing a grappling hook outside of my own vortex and climbing up it, until I can see someone else. My other goal was just to feel deeply, and give others the same opportunity. Sometimes, we need art to give us permission to simmer in whatās already filling our hearts.
Everyone reading this is here. We survive and exist, and we have the privilege of experiencing creative work alongside other people. Iām so grateful to the creators who have shared their work with us for this issue. Their works – relatable, vivid, prescient, stirring – offer us a chance to live, over and over, and know that, in our infinite lives, we are here together.
It hasnāt really stopped feeling like the world is ending, the sky is falling, or the city is sinking. Maybe this is the new normal, and maybe itās not really new. But Iām looking forward to soaking up the sunny Miami āwinterā for as long as Iām here. Iām eager to catch up on my backlog of fiction, to scatter myself across even more existences. And Iām happy to welcome you to Issue 11 of Sinking City!
With love,
Amanda Lamadrid