Hello readers, writers and curious parties alike! Thank you so much for either being an active part of, or randomly stumbling across, Sentience Literary Journal. We are so excited to have you all here for our very first publication! I want to give a special thank you to all the amazingly talented writers who are featured in this issue, as you are the ones who filled it with life and creativity. I also want to give a big THANK YOU to Helen Doremus, co-founder and insanely organized leader of the editorial staff. If it weren’t for you I’m not sure we would even be publishing today. Of course I must mention the remarkable Brianna Vigil and Lisa Croce who are also essential pillars to this literary journal. Okay, fine, I’ll thank myself as well. Thanks, Kelly. 🙂 

Isolation is a theme we can all relate to in one way or another, especially as we continue to reminisce on a time when having contact with another human being wan’t such the ordeal it is today. Whether this sense of isolation is brought about by being alone physically, mentally or spiritually, it can be a deeply intimate and personal experience that moves many of us to cultivate inner growth. The pieces contained in this literary issue are complex and beautiful representations of the types of emotional development that transform us through our months, our years and our entire lives. My own experience with isolation has allowed me to see fragments of myself I would have never experienced otherwise. 

Our hope with this journal is not only to showcase talented authors, but to cultivate an online space for community, growth, and reflection. Though we have all, no doubt, experienced isolation in this past year, many of us have also had the opportunity to redefine our sense of what it means to be surrounded by those who truly care for us. We hope this journal can be a space where authors feel that sense of care, community and encouragement in regards to their writing and self expression. Thank you all for being part of the inception of Sentience in any way, big or small. I can’t wait to see where we go next! Enjoy! 

Kelly Curran, Creative Nonfiction Editor

Featured Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash