A reality that shifts (lurches?) by the day.
The past few weeks have seen your editor deciding whether (and when) to take children out of school. That step having been taken, putting in place some sort of home-schooling regime (laughable, according to my kids). Trying to fashion a working life at home, amidst the chaos of children and changed household dynamics. Finding time to connect with family and friends, multiple times a day. Trying to figure out ways to help those who need it, where I can. Trying to manage the rising panic I feel whenever I read the news, or when I wake in the middle of the night from a coronavirus-related nightmare. Being mindful of the impact on my children’s emotional life – balancing the need for them to understand what is going on with the need to guard against anxiety. Worrying about my friends who work in emergency departments. Worrying about my parents and my grandparents. Preparing for the worst. Endlessly scrolling through more and more information about the virus and its impact. (The list goes on, and I am sure you are all familiar with it).
My apologies, then, for the silence. But I know you understand.
The reason for my message, dear readers, is not just to explain but to also seek some answers to the following question: what would you like to see from Feminista Journal right now? I ask because, quite honestly, it has felt pointless and perhaps shallow to be writing at the moment about anything other than coronavirus. Does anything else really matter? On the other hand, our collective sanity requires some non-coronavirus content, surely. I have been unsure where to land between these two extremes. I am, however, keen to know what you would like to see. Email me – – and let me know.
If you’re a writer/aspiring writer who needs cash then please – get writing! The Journal pays for submissions. Equally, if you’re not a writer but have a lot of spare time at the moment … consider submitting a piece to the Journal too. To the extent it helps to share how you’re feeling during these strange times, what your life is looking like, then get writing and send something in. Feminista Journal has readers around the world (from Poland to Morocco to New Zealand to Hong Kong to France …) – we would very much love to hear from all of you.
Before I go, I will share one article with you – a beautiful piece in the New York Times by Ginia Bellafante about two women, Naomi Replansky (101 years of age) and her wife Eva Kollisch (95 years) and their experiences of suffering (and overcoming suffering) over their lifetimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/nyregion/naomi-replansky-eva-kollisch-coronavirus.html
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