Cover image: "Voyeur" by Leah Albert
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Note from the editor
Welcome to the eighth issue of Wild Roof Journal…
Thank you once again for joining us as we release Issue 8 of Wild Roof Journal. I am pleased to share a brand-new collection of visual and literary art with you!
While putting together the 40 or so pieces that make up this issue, I was interested in questions of subjectivity—how a creative process can frame a scene from one’s inner world in a way that communicates a message to the reader. Sometimes these two subjective worlds overlap due to a direct comparison, such as when a character is encountering a particular scene, challenge, or existential dilemma that you yourself have experienced (or are currently experiencing).
However, there’s also something a bit deeper that I’ve been looking at with the pieces in this issue. Let’s take the cover image as an example: the piece titled “Voyeur” by Leah Albert. There’s an interesting layering that happens once we connect the title of the piece to the image. As a viewer, perhaps we see ourselves seeing the image, eyes drawn into the lit windows, a recognition that “my” view from the outside is different than “their” view from the inside. And to play on that use of perspective some more, if you’ve ever looked out of a window in a brightly lit house at night, all you’ll see is the room reflected back at you!
And here we come to the crux of the matter—how to represent one’s subjective inner world without falling into the trap of storytelling into the mirror, slipping into self-indulgence, navel-gazing, or worse yet, self-delusion and solipsism.
I hope you agree that the pieces collected here strike the right balance, expressing uniquely subjective experiences in honest and perceptive ways, seeking connection with the reader and the world on the other side of the windowpane.
If you’re willing to hear more interpretive flights of fancy, a new roundtable discussion has been released as a complement to the issue. You can listen in here. Roundtable regular Chris Vogt and I are joined by fiction writer Paul Smit and WRJ reader Adrienne Rozells. In this discussion, we focus in on some favorites from the recent March issue and give some of our thoughts about what makes these pieces worthy of another look.
Aaron Lelito – Founder and editor in chief
Reading Annie Dawid’s essays for the first time, the question in my mind is: How have I lived so long in this world without reading Annie Dawid’s essays? In Put Off My Sackcloth, there are accidents and suicide attempts, drugs and accidents, guns and broken bodies—but Dawid’s intelligence and humor light up the darkest landscapes. In these essays, Dawid never flinches and when she can laugh, she laughs. She takes us down deep, but she shows us the sparkle of light glinting at the exit of the cave—and love? Love wins.
—Jill Christman, author of Darkroom: A Family Exposure and Borrowed Babies
Writer and expat Cecilia Gigliotti is full of opinions. From life and work abroad to identity breakdowns, from discovering new books to rediscovering old music, from the foibles of ancient artists to the philosophies of modern friendships, she shares them all here. Whether you’re just starting out in the world or already longing for the good old days, wherever you are on the globe, there’s room for you. Join the intercontinental journey at Così faccio io.
Thank you to our sponsors for Issue 8
Galleries
This issue is arranged into three “galleries,” a concept we’ve borrowed from the art world. Each gallery has a selection of various artwork–both visual and textual. There are some intentional connections between pieces placed next to each other–maybe some unintentional connections as well–and perhaps some points of contrast. Just like a collection in an art gallery, different styles, techniques, and subject matters are brought together, while still keeping enough space around each piece so that each one can be enjoyed fully on its own.
In addition to the gallery links here, there is a list of contributor names below. You may click on any of these names for a direct link to that artist’s work.
Visual Art
Painting | Photography | Digital | Drawing | Mixed Media
Literary Art
Poetry | Fiction | Non-Fiction | Essay
