For all that is said about structure in writing, nothing is linear.

 

As we navigate this new interior landscape during the pandemic, we find that our perceptions of time have shifted. The dual gaze, then, is not just a matter of looking outwards and inwards, but also forwards and backwards, above and underneath. And, in the process of writing, we find the freedom to come and go, unrestricted by temporal or spatial limits. Like the speaker moving between two lakes in Lane Dever’s “Foam”, we too take a fixed stance in the face of duality. 

 

In this inaugural issue of Hominum Journal, we hope to explore the intersection of this simultaneous inward and outward gaze. In the continued fight against racial inequality, institutionalized discrimination, and state oppression at all levels, the rise of change can be felt bubbling to the surface. Though we are told that to fill a blank page is a revolutionary act—a political one at that, writing is also a necessarily inward process. So once again, we find ourselves trying to find middle ground.

 

Like a palpitating heartbeat, a neuron crossing the synapse, a contracting diaphragm, we reflect on the actions that make us human. Gaia Rajan writes of a moth striving toward light, Youngseo Lee describes holding her tongue, and Shreya Vikram illustrates the grotesque phenomenon of unkept, long fingernails. Our Issue 1 encompasses the various concerns of present-day reality, bringing voice to the ideas of individuals worldwide. We hope that through these works, the everlasting requisite for evolution—both in ourselves and in society—is evident.