Welcome to our first issue of the year ‘Fade. The following pages are the hard work of many individuals who we are indebted to. Our contributors that fill our pages, our editors who inspire our writers and refine their pieces, and finally you, our readers, who we are always grateful for.
We are always glad to invite you into our pages, to feel the creative force of the writing and the artwork within. So return to your favourite little reading nook wherever that might be, or settle down at the start of a long journey, and turn to page one. Let yourself fade out of reality…
Happy reading,
From the Lighthouse Team
Editors Letters
Rory McAlpine-
Editor in Chief
Writers have many ideas, thoughts, stories, and words in their head which often fade into and can just as quickly fade out of existence. But some can be snatched, held onto, and wrestled down.
It is these captured moments of imagination that can then begin to put down roots, to be examined and encouraged to grow into the pieces of literature that fills the pages of this issue. It takes immense time to produce the high quality works of writing you will see here. They all begin with their authors having that spark of inspiration, of creativity, but that is the easy part. The hard part is building on it, thinking about what to do with it for hours and hours, the endless drafts, and those not quite right sentences. The hard part is not letting that first idea for a piece of writing to just fade away. To put pen to paper so it cannot escape or become forgotten.
Our writers are a truly talented collective, and every theme we see the full breadth of their creativity in picking it apart, reshaping it and exploring it through their work. It is always important to not just commend the finished work but the tireless work that has shaped it. So I invite you to read this issue, to immerse yourself in the worlds of these writers. The worlds that have been built by countless hours of devotion.
Mia Hyde-
Editor in Chief
When the team settled on ‘Fade’ as the theme for Issue 11, I composed myself for a torrent of submissions saturated with melancholy. Fading out; fading away; the nothingness; the silence; the stasis. The absence of what was once so powerfully felt, and now is no more…
Since reading the work submitted to FTL this issue, a line of Emily Dickinson’s has been stuck in my mind: ‘Fairer through Fading.’ These phenomenal pieces refuse to simply fade away, but fade into. The processes of fading which each work undergoes empowers each one of them to reemerge ‘fairer.’
Yes, some of these pieces encompass experiences or moments of fading away. But, we’re never left with the absence of what once was. What fills this space is the lingering, bittersweet flavour of what adamantly refuses to fade. And nor will the power of our writers’ talent in this issue of FTL. Let it stay with you, even after you’ve finished reading; after you’ve closed your laptop; after you’ve stepped aside and are going about your day. Carry with you that final arresting aftertaste, as faint as it might become. And ultimately, accompanied by Ethan Thorne’s elaborately poignant illustrations, let reading this issue of FTL remain a multi-sensory experience that carries you through the remainder of Epiphany term.
Ethan Thorne-
Illustrations and artwork
When designing all the illustrations for the ‘Fade’ collection, it was interesting to try and understand the abstract aesthetic and foundational similarities which all the submissions possessed. This led me to try and replicate a collective understanding of the emotions which inhabit and emerge from within ‘fade’, which I felt drew allusion to the immanence of Rothko.
Section Editor Letters
Isobel & Mia
Non-Fiction Editors
With the theme of Fade a sense of reflection was at the forefront of our minds. Thinking about the process of fading, the slight, not sudden, change that occurs, points us towards what has faded from our lives and the world around us. Whether this be colour and texture with the changing of seasons, or a cultural shift, or simply how you have grown, how different things have faded from your life and what remains. We chose the theme in Autumn; it has now faded to Spring. All of the submissions for Issue Eleven encapsulate the melting pot of emotions that the process of fading can evoke, but in richly imaginative and diverse ways. We have thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone’s work and working alongside all of the other wonderful editors. We hope you enjoyed reading, as much as we have!