Editors' Note: Spring 2012

Spring has arrived, along with our third journal. In our Spring 2012 journal, we present the work of artists, photographers and writers who explore themes that force us to stop and examine the uncertain world around us, something our busy lives often prevent (or maybe save) us from doing.

This season's cover art explores contrasts: classical/ modern, the natural/ the human-made, man/ woman. Tangled between these contrasts are the gray areas of life that dissolve and question the truth of these binary categories.  

In a photographic series entitled "Young Americans," the photographer and writer Sean Lotman documents the lives of our nation's youth.   

In her poem "from Wherever Clarity is Necessary," Shanita Bigelow encourages us to think critically about the many constructs, classifications and ways of viewing the pronoun (and the sound) "I."

Kesley Shipman allows us to view a common experience of our generation in a gritty, tangible way in her poem "The Morning After." And in her poem "Vision of My Father," Shipman explores the distance between a father and his child. 

Shauntrice Art's painting "Othello Lives" is a bold, colorful portrayal of the famous Moor of Venice -- a portrayal that reclaims the historical, oft-insensitive portrayal of this literary African character. 

Finally, Sean Lotman's story "Just Say Yes" takes us to a North African country, where two Americans rendezvous and probe the possibility of being more than just friends.