Dear Reader,

The world calls out to us every day. As we move through its offerings, we find ourselves exhilarated, hurt, awestruck, humiliated, welcomed, denied, hopeful, afraid. In the face of such overwhelming saturation, we might wish to retreat from the world. However tempting this may seem, we soon find such a wish to be impossible. No design, no power, and no sense of control can render us invulnerable to the happenings of the day. We have been irretrievably thrown into the world, and we will be attempting to make sense of it for the rest of our lives.

In our 189th year of publication, the Lit hopes to plunge headfirst into the world. Whether a fragile body taking its final steps (Celina Qu’s “ross laycock (1991 / 79 kg)” or a strong body “cutting / the earth” (Lucy Ton That’s “Trompe-l’œil”), a man realizing his boundless implication within the world (Morgan Vannell’s “More Is Needed Than the Leaves at Night”) or a spectator wishing to be protected from such implication (Sophie Molden’s “Insider story”), this edition of the Lit traces the movements of withdrawal and immersion, of slamming the brakes and the gas pedal, of looking away from and looking toward what is needed from us. 

The world calls out to us every day. Hopefully, we will find the courage to respond.

With thanks,

Daniel Zhang, Editor-in-Chief

Kaya Dierks, Editor-in-Chief