Spring 2024
“Rebirth”
I grew up in Colorado, and its weather is often too dry—driving through, you’re surrounded by sun-baked grass fields and orange canyons that crumble in the heat. Multiple wildfires have torn through our towns because of these conditions, and my memory is stained by their sweet-smelling smoke, which would conceal the sky and redden the sun. But when it rains, the world falls silent, the air turns cool, and the earth drinks it all in, rinsing away the hazardous dust of the season.
I spent part of the summer at home, and I was always thinking about water. I see it present—both literally and figuratively—over this issue…Water represents beginnings and endings, compelling us to think about the exchange between life and death, the ruthless cyclicality of both.
- Annie Cao, “Editors’ Note”