Dear Readers,
We bring the Fall 2016 issue into the world at a time when it feels as though everything is falling apart. Hate has found new footholds in the world, and although many of the problems we face today have always been always been present, racist, sexist, and homophobic sentiment have been legitimized to a frightening degree. We do not know what the future will hold.
Lately, we have been considering Minetta’s place in this new world. We are college-run magazine run by a constellation of diverse and beautiful bodies. At times, we are both confused and terrified, and often we do not know what to do. In the past several weeks, we (as individuals and as a collective) have worried about the reach of our relatively small magazine. We have a message of love to spread, but can we spread it far enough? How will we be heard in the noise? We know this question echoing among people of all ages, particularly our fellow students.
It is a question to which we do not have an answer. But we cannot understate the importance of making noise and making art. While we hope that something we create will find wings, none of us can risk adding to silence. We recognize that the creation of art in all forms and on all stages is necessary not only as an act of love and resistance, but also as a way to heal our minds and bodies so that we can continue to love and resist.
We have worked hard this year to increase our Minetta community, and bring poetry, prose, and art to more people than ever before. In October, we took part for the second time in the Above and Below Reading Series at the Jefferson Market Public Library. Among our many talented readers were Minetta graduates, and we are thrilled that to see them succeed as writers and as artists. As always, we are deeply appreciative of Scott Hightower, without whom this series, and Minetta’s part in it, would never have taken place. We are also thrilled to announce that Scott has contributed a poem to the Fall 2016 issue of Minetta; Little Creek Deep Drink beautifully describes the deep-rooted history of the Minetta Review’s namesake, the now vanished Minetta Creek.
We were also excited to take part in the first NYC New Voices Reading, in conjunction with Sarah Lawrence College, Columbia University, and NYU’s GLS Poetry club and De Ambiente. We are particularly thankful to Eugenia Cavazos for securing Poets House for the venue, and her organizational fervor. It was a magical night, and we hope to see many more.
As always, Emma & I are indefinitely grateful to our tireless staff, who have worked hard through what has at times been a truly trying semester. We would also like to thank Sarah McGough, our advisor, and everyone who has strived to will our readings and our magazine into existence. We hope you are as excited about this issue as we are.
With Love,
Emma Thomas & Annesha Sengupta
