"Katrina" copyright by Christopher Clements
A Beginning
"The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution."
~ Paul Cezanne
Happy Winter Solstice! We're thrilled to join you on the shortest day of the year, the day light is reborn. An auspicious time. The perfect time to send Cezanne's Carrot into the world.
Though there are many fine literary journals available, in print and online, Cezanne's Carrot will focus on a special kind of literature. Until now, there have been few markets for writing that is too spiritual or contemplative for mainstream journals, but that strays too far from center or is too literary for religious publications. This is the kind of literature that we will feature here.
The desire for spiritual literature and art is growing, evidenced by the expanding number of spiritually themed books and the phenomenal success of the Spiritual Cinema Circle. We intend to promote the growth of spiritual literature and art in many ways: by providing a showcase for work through Cezanne's Carrot, by offering classes and workshops on spiritual writing, and by helping to build a community of artists whose work echoes the voices of our evolving world. You can read more about these activities throughout our website, and we'll be adding more information as time goes on.
Originally, we'd planned to simply issue a call for submissions on the Winter Solstice, but then we all felt called to anchor Cezanne's Carrot with an inaugural issue. We put out an invitation to writers whose work we admired and whose bright spirits and hearts would help us launch the magazine with the intent we desired. Their wonderfully supportive response allowed us to create a remarkable premiere issue full of powerful, provocative writing.
Several themes emerged in the work we received and have published in this issue of Cezanne's Carrot. Many pieces center on the power of love and devotion, others have a decidedly mythic feel, and many show the clear influence of the emerging divine feminine. Some of the pieces are traditional; others create a more mystical mood or blur the boundaries of what is considered real.
We've been overwhelmed by the generosity of nationally recognized writers Joan Logghe, Thomas R. Smith, and Lyn Lifshin, as well as the very talented writers Pam Wynn, Paul Alan Fahey, Antonios Maltezos, Louisa Howerow, and Mary Estrada. We're grateful to every one of them for helping us bring this issue into form. We offer special thanks to the multi-talented Christopher Clements who generously allowed us to share so many of his phenomenal photographs and photographic collages, one of which formed the backdrop of our logo. In this first issue, we've also included work from the three of us, which we hope will help you get to know us and help demonstrate the range of work we'll be publishing in Cezanne's Carrot.
In this issue and all that follow, we intend to offer work that inspires, that celebrates the beauty and miracles life has to offer, and that shines a light on the possibilities that blossom when the illusions of what we think must be are brushed away. These are the kind of fresh observations that can trigger a revolution of thought and vision, fresh observations that can help illuminate the world.
Copyright 2005 by Cezanne's Carrot
