Vol. 10 (2025): Off Center

Letters from the Editors

Without art, what are we?

Art is on street corners; art is on billboards; art is bound to a spine, and it is necessary to each and every life on earth. As Kendrick Lamar said in an unreleased song: “The Earth is just a rock without the voices of art.” Call rap what you like, but so simple and poignant a lyric speaks to a distinctly human truth: we need art to live meaningful lives. People eat, drink, and sleep so organs don’t shut down, so our corporeal selves can retain the actual self where one thinks—the self from which art emanates.But without art we could not possibly understand the warmth of a heart-to-heart embrace, why some of us breath deep the smell of our coffee, whysomeone might cry tears of joy at the simple phrase, “How are you?” Withoutart, we would be hopeless to truly make sense of human life or to foster ourconnection to reality with any meaning. Loneliness would have no merit;everyone would be a body walking with senses scattered throughout the nerves like leaves in a torrential storm.Art is reciprocal. We consume it, we live it, then we create it. The stories held in this issue of Off Center are full of life and that drive for understanding which is art’s staple. Most of the art within this issue is in the medium of the written word, but the images and meanings each piece creates far surpass what the eyes can read. The artists of this issue all shared not only their work with us but a part of their self. That is not only a brave thing to do but a beautiful thing.I hope you all can learn a little more about what it means to live on this Earth,this beautiful rock, by way of the artists who shared their knowledge — their art — with you in this magazine.

--Josh

It is a joy to be able to greet you and meet you through the pages of this digital magazine. I’d love to ask you where you’re from, how you got here, and hear your story. What’s life been like for you ? How would you tell your story?

I’m curious because, after all, stories are the entire reason that this literary magazine exists. Through every photo, poem, or fictional piece found in these pages, there is a story being told. It is my wish that you grasp the honor of getting to soak in each one.

In a reality where artificial intelligence is quickly becoming quite the controversy and stirring up disturbing questions and worrisome conversations for each of us, I’d like to take a moment and assure you that the stories found on these pages are something real, wholehearted, and most importantly, human.

Some of these stories are darker than others. If you’re anything like me, they may bring tears to your eyes. However, I can guarantee you that these stories will also make you smile. And laugh. And wonder. And gasp. What a beautiful thing it is to experience this range of reactions, both in the creation and reception of these works. It is exactly this range of emotional responses that make us human.

With this in mind, I’d like to invite you to explore the following pages with an open mind and heart, ready to embrace every living story found within these pages. Appreciate the humanness of these creative works — I believe that’s something worth celebrating today.

I hope you hear the heartbeats behind every word.

--Autumn