As my colleagues and I prepared this issue, I was struck by the gentle Quaker exhortation, “Mind the light,” included within the text—and referenced in the title— of Deborah Kelly Kloepfer’s essay “Minding the Light.” Though I’m not a Quaker, “Mind the light” seems to me excellent counsel—and a potent reminder to look for compassion, empathy, and the many forms of positive creativity in ourselves and harbored within most of our fellow human beings.

To me, positive creativity means not only celebrations of sunshine and sweet breezes, though I welcome salutes to both. Especially in the context of our magazine, I view positive creativity as well-rendered written, visual, and aural art that reflects and examines aspects of our existence, raises challenging questions, pokes fun in thought-provoking ways, and generally stimulates both mind and spirit. The arts have the power to do all these things in ways that resound unpredictably. As Emily Dickinson wrote, “The poet lights the light and fades away. But the light goes on and on.”

This issue of Persimmon Tree is filled with positive creativity—including fiction that deals with some of the darker aspects of life, and nonfiction that reflects the courage and curiosity that are among the better angels of human nature. Publisher Jean Zorn introduces varied and moving Short Takes contributions on “Legacies.” Music Editor Gena Raps reports on joining 96-year-old composer Thea Musgrave for the recent London production of Musgrave’s opera Mary, Queen of Scots. Art Editor Greta Berman introduces us to the multi-faceted creativity of Betti Franceschi. And Poetry Editor Cynthia Hogue presents examples of the sometimes harrowing but always compassionate poetry of Naomi Shihab Nye. You’ll also find in these pages, “The Creative Life,” a new section we plan to publish each spring, in which contributors deal with various aspects of, and challenges associated with, artistic creation.

Finally, in the Forum members of the Persimmon Tree community describe, with eloquence and haunting detail, their experiences surviving climate disasters, each contribution a testament to resilience, determination, and concern for our beleaguered planet. Climate change is only one of the challenges the human community is currently facing, of course. This seems an era of growing intolerance and political and social upheaval, leaving many in despair. So I leave you with the words of poet Gwendolyn Brooks, who wrote in her “Speech to the Young”:

Deep Ends

by Roberta Schultz

    Deep Ends explores the fragile balance between treading life’s turbulent waters and mastering a survival float. A father invents his brand of cross-chest carry to save himself and his grandson from drowning in a “current of light and sound.” A mother tosses her young daughter into the deep end of a public pool in hopes she will learn to swim. A daughter becomes a lifeguard, a teacher inspired by Dolly Parton’s “can-do” attitude, and an empowerment drummer. Family, grief, survival, and climate change are the themes in Roberta Schultz’s second full-length collection.     Available from the publisher.

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