I knew from the moment I chose the Theme & Prompt that #7 was going to be on the heavy side, emotionally speaking. Some of works in this issue have Content Warnings. CWs are tricky. In general, I leave it up to the contributor to determine if a CW is warranted for their work. Three of the contributors to this issue included CWs with their submissions, and I chose to label a fourth. There are as many good reasons to use CWs as there are objections to them, many of which are also reasonable. Possibly, I should have used a few more here. Possibly, the theme alone might be sufficient to warn readers of the potential dangers lurking within. Certainly, no two people will share the exact same opinions, preferences, or practices on their usage. This is the first issue where I’ve had to grapple with this, and it’s doubtful my choices will satisfy everyone. I am absolutely open to feedback and crticism.
I have deep gratitude and appreciation for all of the contributors to Exist Otherwise, but especially those who are appearing in this issue. I know from personal experience that writing from, or about, the experiences of trauma can be at once difficult and healing. I am not advocating creativity or art as therapy, but suggesting that creative expression for its own sake is vital to mental health (for both creators and witnesses). Life is movement. Art is movement with influence, direction, and response. With that in mind, thise site is an old-school style blog with comments enabled. Please take advantage of that. Come to think of it, maybe I’ll go back in time even further inspirationally and introduce a ‘letters’ section in future issues. Let me know what you think about that, or anything else…
One last thing. Our new cover design was inspired by my discovery of a delightfully quirky and thoughtful typeface, non-binary. I kid you not, on a whim, I did a web search for “non-binary font,” and found a brand new typeface with a fascinating back story. I wasn’t expecting to find a literal non-binary font, let alone one that so perfectly represents the spirit of this journal.
“Type design as a genealogy of symbols: an experimentation, a reflection on diversity and integration, but above all an appeal to what makes us unique: human being. WE ARE ONE … AND WE ARE MANY!”
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My name is Eric Jennings (he/him) – I am a writer and visual artist with a background in theatre and performance. My experiences as a survivor of childhood sexual victimization inform my work.