The End of the Inaugural Season
An update on the series, a reflection, and some thoughts about going forward.
Dear Readers,
It’s been a while since we posted new material here, or an update. I sincerely apologize for my negligence and for making promises I could not fulfill, and I ask for your forgiveness.
The last piece we posted here was a poem by Victor Chukwu - Shout or Shine - at the beginning of October this year. Since we have not published anymore pieces since then, I am officially calling Shout or Shine the finale of our inaugural season of The Mind Stayed Series.
At the beginning of the year, when I began this series, I was very interested in trying to collaborate with other writers and artists, for the sake of getting our written and artistic pieces out to a broader audience. I confess though, that for a while, using this strategy was not something I really wanted to do, because I perceived it would involve sacrificing my own writing desires in order to promote other people’s writing. It would also involve work. But, because it had always been my natural bent to collaborate with other writers for the purpose of, say, publishing a magazine, I decided, especially after completing a course with Becky Beresford, that it was time to get serious about the vision in my mind.
It was work, for sure, asking people to contribute a piece for this series and then doing the intake, formatting, and publishing. And, certainly I have probably sacrificed a bit. But, it has been worth it and I am so pleased with the pieces that have been shared here so far. I am grateful for the gracious contributors who have also sacrificed their time and energy in order to fill this space with thought-provoking and encouraging pieces.
In total, the series has published eleven unique pieces, written by six different authors. And while I had hoped for and envisioned much more, it was honestly enough. It was enough for a few different reasons. Firstly, it was more than what this amateur publisher/editor deserves - which sounds a bit like imposter syndrome, but just trust me on this. Secondly, the deep, high-quality pieces shared here are more than enough to occupy a reader’s thoughts for awhile, especially with the amount of content we are inundated with every day. More has not necessarily been necessary. And lastly, it’s been enough because it has been all that this publisher/editor could handle in a year that brought a big change in my life.
Anyhow, all this to say that the Mind Stayed Series this year - this inaugural season - has been enough and, in my mind (through much retrospection), successful. Writers (including me) have been challenged and have written beautiful pieces, and you readers have read new things that have hopefully made you think and brought some encouragement to your life.
In going forward with the series, I do perceive that there may be some changes to the series, in terms of the content that is included with each metaphorical piece. At this point though, I cannot say definitively what those changes will be. Also, seeing that I currently have some extra activities that I am working on for my job, I will not at this time make any promises for when I will begin season two of the series. But, I do want to continue the series with a new season sometime in 2024, and beginning with a piece from
.To close out this update, I just want to say thanks so much for your support in subscribing and reading. It means a lot to me, as the host of this series, and also to the writers who have contributed. to have people who are interested in this work. Also, to those of you who have encouraged and supported this series with a paid subscription or with a tip, your generosity has helped me to be able to also show the writers in this series a fraction of the value of their work. Often times a writer’s most meaningful payment is just knowing that their writing has made a difference in someone else’s life - whether it’s deep soul-impact or just a moment of delight. But receiving a little monetary payment at the same time can add a new spark of responsibility to a writer, and may provoke them to carry on with the good work that they’ve been called to do. (And good writers - dare I say it - should be paid anyway.) So, again, thank you.
Lord willing, we will see you soon in the next season of the series. Have a happy new year!
Warmest regards,
Sara
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