DISCURSION
the editorial
Dearest friends,
Somehow, we have arrived at this – the tenth issue of The Madrigal.
We were on our way somewhere else entirely, but as always, we took a detour. Then another. Then we followed a strange sentence into the woods, made a nest out of ellipses, and stayed for a while. By the time we looked up, here we were: issue ten, Discursion.
Discursion itself offers a myriad of possibilities, chief among those the ideas of movement, discourse, and disruption. Yet it, too, also changes shape – a process of formal analysis that demands separation from the intuitive and immediate. In selecting this theme, we hoped to compile a body of work that challenged the conceptions of logical flow, electing instead towards the contradictions, conceit, and restlessness that seem more palpable now than ever.
In an age of instantaneous demand, efficiency, and pressure, Discursion begs its reader to consider what it is to dawdle, to allow oneself the opportunity to meander. In this issue, you will find pieces of poetry and nonfiction that ask us Who can find the deepest hole? Would a neutron bomb even satisfy? Were there ever horses? Would it get us closer to a memory? What is it, really, to write with resistance, and what does it mean to allow oneself to let go?
As we continue to move forward, thoughts of change and motion are ever on our mind. Next year marks the fifth anniversary of The Madrigal, a celebration that seems both wildly impossible and innately natural. But, for now, we ask nothing more of you than this: wait, slow down, consider. Take a moment, and thank you, as always, for being here with us.
As ever,
Helen and Jacob