An editorial with Megan Otto |
Rest
We’d like to share with our Awakenings community that The Nightingale is taking a hiatus. We’re pausing this project, and we’ll continue to focus on our visual exhibits and our ongoing literary magazine.
As an editor, I’m deeply honored to have read the stories you have submitted to this blog, and I am so grateful that so many of them remain collected here! I offer my sincere thanks to all of you for being readers and contributors to The Nightingale.
The Nightingale has been sharing survivor stories for two years now—two years of essays, memoirs, and fiction have kept us continually thinking, conversing, and sharing in this community. It follows that the Nightingale archives are full of true gems of storytelling and artistic expression—please use this time to browse and peruse through them at your own pace. There are some excellent pieces from the Nightingale’s early days to discover if you are a newer reader, and there are plenty of more recent contributions to revisit as familiar favorites.
As we turn to a hiatus, I hope that we can find value in the pause. Hopefully we can rest, take time for reflection, and enjoy writing that we’ve enjoyed in the past. And as we think about what it means to pause, I would like to encourage you to make this a gentle one. Nourish whatever in you that needs to be nourished, and ask yourself questions about how you can rest effectively in a way that truly rejuvenates you, bolsters you, and brings you new energy. If you feel creative, please continue to write, and if you are feeling more contemplative, please take some time to breathe. Or move between the two!
Rest can be a way to gain or shift perspective, especially for creatives. During these times of isolation, rest is abundant, and yet it can also sometimes be difficult to cultivate. Awakenings remains here for you to ground you, encourage your thinking and introspection, and hopefully help you know that finding personal peace and stillness can be equally as valuable as sharing your voice.
The Nightingale is a quiet community for now, always in your corner. If you feel inclined, please do keep up your creativity and keep writing! Awakened Voices will still be accepting submissions twice a year, and we cannot wait to read the stories you might have ready to share with us then.