From the Editor: The Interlude Issue

It’s been a little while since our last moment of quiet.

You might notice we look rather different in Half Mystic Journal’s Issue VI: Interlude than in our past five issues, & you would be right. You might think we seem more silent than we have in the past. You’d be right about that, too. & if you asked why, I could tell you it’s been a hard year, or a beautiful one. I could tell you we’ve lost people at Half Mystic who we’ve loved since the beginning of this symphony, or that we’ve begun new projects that stun us whole, lift us up, fill us with a glorious gluttonous light. I could tell you we’ve listened to so many gorgeous songs it’s hard to name a favourite one. & all that would be true, but mostly, it’s just been a little while since our last moment of quiet.

It’s been three & a half years, in fact. Three & a half years of song & the things that come before, song & the things it leaves behind. Three & a half years of falling in love. Of testing the roof of the mouth of silence. Three & a half years of confessionals. Three & a half windchime years, dissonant years, loud loud loud years. Years of breath unlearned, unclenched. Faces tipped towards that curious calling voice, never quite sure whether we were hearing music or noise.

It’s been a little while since our last moment of quiet. Here, then, is the first rest: a tender liminal space. Hand-painted ghosts. The fog sleeveless & warm. Footsteps disappearing off the ground like they were never there. I hope you find a place to linger inside this interlude, dear reader. Could there be a song more beautiful than the absence of one?

Issue VI showcases the theme of interlude: the keystrokes of transitory—the movement in the rest—the inhale before the storm. It features the voices of Devin Kelly, Hana Widerman, Nicholas Bon, Jill Mceldowney, Jenna Kohut, Chelsea Dingman, Donna Vorreyer, Hazem Fahmy, The Woodlands, Gillian Herrin, Margaryta Golovchenko, Mark J. Mitchell, Give Me Motion, Diannely Antigua, myself, David Anthony Sam, Emma Cairns Watson, Dana Alsamsam, Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach, Sara Hovda, Elizabeth Ruth Deyro, Ariana D. Den Bleyker, Quinn Lui, Yify Zhang, & Joyanna M. It is out now.

Order your copy today. We're so honoured to share it with you. xx

From the Editor, Announcements, MusicTopaz WintersDevin Kelly, Hana Widerman, Nicholas Bon, Jill Mceldowney, Chelsea Dingman, Donna Vorreyer, Hazem Fahmy, Gillian Herrin, Margaryta Golovchenko, Mark J. Mitchell, Diannely Antigua, Topaz Winters, David Anthony Sam, Dana Alsamsam, Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach, Sara Hovda, Elizabeth Ruth Deyro, Ariana D. Den Bleyker, Quinn Lui, Yify Zhang, Emma Cairns Watson, Give Me Motion, Jenna Kohut, The Woodlands, Joyanna M.