I Battle Between day and Night
Dear Readers,
There are few struggles as classic and universal as the battle between day and night, between light and dark. This year’s issue of RiverCraft explores the balance that we all try to find in our lives between the two extremes. These opposing forces cannot exist in isolation; you can never have one without the other. With this issue, we hope to remind you that that’s okay.
The magazine opens with “When The Sky Glows, Don’t Panic” by Olive Lambert, conjuring images of a hazy in-between that is not quite light and not quite dark, and closes with “Call the Mortician” by Nala Washington, leaving us with a powerful statement on the nature of the very society in which we live. We wake up with “Marmalade” by Jake Price and collapse into sleep with “A Ballad of Birds” by Emily Harris. We confront the reality of revenge in “Rusalka” by Grace Evans and explore a traditionally dark creature from a different perspective in “Medusa” by Cara Tobin. Though “Doormat” by Sydnie Howard may evoke memories of difficult relationships, “Reminders to the Twenty-One Year Old Eating Breakfast Alone at the Kitchen Table” by Kaci Modavis empowers us to see the light that is around us, even in lonely times.
Caitlin Johannes shows us how to see beauty in everyday moments, in different places, and in all things. Meanwhile, Marie Gilbert encourages us to yearn for and imagine the story behind an image. Then, Kalie Jimison shocks us with the ability to capture our natural world in a way that seems to preserve even its movement.
So, step away from your own battle between day and night into the pages of this year’s issue. Embrace it, and let the pieces engage your mind, your heart, and your soul until the line between light and dark becomes blurred. It may be at that very point that you find the sharpest clarity.