Letter from the Staff, Spring 2020
Dear Readers,
We would all like to thank you for keeping up with the art and writings we work to produce, curate, and edit. We are currently living in the strangest, most confusing and fearful period of recent history. It is one of the most bizarre times of the already unpredictable first decades of the 21st century.
While our country has unquestionably been built on the backs of oppressed persons from the beginning, never in our lifetime have the right-wing driven polarities been so drastic and our democracy so delicate. It is in these times of uncertainty that art and literature are most important. We believe this work and that of all progressive publications to be integral contributions to social discourse; every critical essay and every thoughtful piece of creative writing offers something new to the constant discussion and debate.
It is through this belief and our love of the Leviathan Jewish Journal that we have found solutions to the significant barriers constructed by the global pandemic. The pandemic has compounded generalized fear of the United States’ current political and social direction and makes the case for progressive publications all the more strong.
With physical demonstrations and protests rendered impossible (or at the very least, incredibly irresponsible), publications like Leviathan are a necessary tool to continue the discussion.
In lieu of a physical publication, we will be publishing at least one new piece of writing and/or art every week until the time comes when we can return to our regular means of production.
In addition, we want to continue sharing work that celebrates Judaism and demonstrates the creativity of our community. We encourage people to submit anything that fits the theme of the magazine because escape, happiness, and learning are just as important as discourse and current events.
We dearly hope you stay safe and practice self-care as we overcome this obstacle. Despite its enormous scale, it is still but another obstacle in a long series. If we keep working to accomplish a safe, empathy-driven civilization we are confident we will get there.
Keep writing, keep making art, keep talking. Keep contributing your voice to the discussion. Your voice is important as any other, and we want nothing more than to amplify it through our publication.
We greatly look forward to hearing from you and offering work we are proud to publish.
Jackson, Mary, Rachel, Amanda & Raina
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