Notes From the Editors

No one likes change except a wet baby.

Maybe your father said it to you first, or your high school guidance counselor, or maybe you just heard it somewhere you can’t quite remember. Maybe you just heard it here first! Regardless, there’s a good chance something about it resonated with you.

We’ve grown up in a society hesitant to change, but in this fast moving world, sometimes the only constant is change. Sometimes, change occurs quickly and startles us. Other times, it comes about gradually and you don’t notice the difference until its happened.

Two years ago, in our very first Notes from the Editors, we talked to you about the way Spry was realized: both Erin and Linsey sitting at their computers, chatting about their next steps in life. Both Editors were fresh from their MFA program at Fairfield University, and were working professionally in positions that, while fulfilling, were not in line with their passions or degrees. Spry became the most important next step for them – and together, with a strong network growing to support them, it became the collection of wildly imaginative, inspiring works you see today.

This issue specifically has been a testament to both change and to growth. When the reading period began in November, until today when the issue went live, the staff, content, our careers, our homes, and even our names have changed (or at least one will soon)!

It wasn’t our intention to showcase a theme, but as we read through this issue, we noticed change in each accepted piece. Isn’t that the nature of literature, to mark the results, the befores, the afters, or in some cases the durings of change? Even in a marked period of ritual, change occurs around us somewhere. In some cases, literature helps us to embrace change. In others, it helps us to cope, to expect, or to bounce back.

We hope the pieces you read in this issue will be catalysts for positive movement in your life. Whether you are reading with us today for a quick break from doldrums, or are seeking something more powerful and moving, we know you will find it here. Read (and change) with us.

Yours in writing,
Erin and Linsey
The Editors