(Excerpt from Issue 9’s Director’s Cut)
Why do we tell stories?
To inform, to inspire, to connect.
The miracle of art is the way it enables us to express things at once inextricable from ourselves and more encompassing than the sum of an individual existence. More, it facilitates an exchange, across language, time, and space. In short, it provides the opportunity for connection.
The methods and meanings of connection are in constant flux, just as art evolves, over time. Back in a different, arguably simpler era, connection occurred in the present tense, in person. Or did it? Another miracle of art is the way it defies death (literal, figurative): so long as human eyes, ears, and hearts are available to receive it, art can align us through centuries. Who hasn’t, on occasion, felt closer to an author or work of art than their closest relatives?
Art has the possibility of teaching us so many things, and in ways that cut across economic, geographic, and even historical barriers. An exceptional poem, song, story, painting, or photograph can present experiences from a life we don’t know or could only imagine, or it can remind us that most human beings are desperate for the same things: love, peace, understanding, justice, compassion, community, beauty.
Creative storytelling is never a static act. Whether intended to unify or disrupt, the reaction, when it’s received, is an antidote to solitude (sometimes even despair)—and instigates progression, on personal or societal levels. The impact of art can be empowering, and a human being has changed, invariably for the better, having been part of the connection.
Hear contributors from Issue No. 9 read and discuss their work. Video (and bios of each contributor) below. *Special thanks to Kim Triedman, whose remarkable art graces our cover, and whose work is featured in the issue via this link.
CALLING ALL CREATIVES: Movable Type Issue 10 will explore the issue of POWER and we welcome submissions of poetry, prose, memoir, essay, visual art, music, and interview. Send pieces (or questions) to me at sean@1455litarts.org
Lena Derhally is a licensed psychotherapist certified in Imago Relationship Therapy and the author of the true crime best seller, My Daddy is a Hero: How Chris Watts Went from Family Man to Family Killer, which has sold 50,000 copies worldwide. Her work and expertise have been featured in O Magazine, SELF, Glamour, The Washington Post, A&E, Hollywood Life, The Huffington Post, Law and Crime, and more. She was formerly a clinical instructor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the George Washington School of Medicine, where she mentored medical students. In her spare time she enjoys coaching soccer, DJ’ing, and raising money for her favorite causes. Lena lives in Washington DC with her husband, children, and pets.
Vicki Whicker, poet and art photographer, is a member of the Los Angeles Poets and Writers Collective and Bright Hill Press Poets. Her poetry has been published by Mo+th, 12 Los Angeles Poets, Big City Mantra, Literary Mama, and others. Her poetry and art photography are featured in the anthology Seeing Things (Woodland Arts Editions, 2020), her poem “Fire Starter” was published in both English and Spanish with La Presa (Embajadoras Press), and her debut collection of poems Caught Before Flight was published by Woodland Arts Editions, all in 2020.
Christina Seymour is the author of When is a Burning Tree (Glass Lyre Press 2018) and the chapbook Flowers Around Your Soft Throat (Structo 2016). Her poems also appear in The Moth, North American Review, Cimarron Review, The Briar Cliff Review, Wick Poetry Center’s exhibit, Speak Peace—American Voices Respond to Vietnamese Children’s Paintings, and elsewhere. Her work received the Russell MacDonald Creative Writing Award and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best New Poets, and the AWP Intro Award.
Martha Schumacher has 25 years of thought leader experience. She’s a social impact sector champion, mentor, coach, educator and author whose expertise is wide and deep. Martha’s greatest passions are change management, major gifts training, capital campaign design, strategic planning, and staff and board development. Martha has partnered with social impact organizations across the country and around the world, including American University, AARP Foundation, National Geographic Society, and Best Buddies International. Previously, Martha was the Vice President for Development at Defenders of Wildlife. She is proud to serve as the Association of Fundraising Professionals Global (AFP) Chair, and was honored to be named Outstanding Fundraising Professional by the AFP/DC Chapter.
Rebecca Haller is a writer, researcher and recovering journalist based in DC. By heart she’s a storyteller and a seeker with a chronic case of wanderlust and a penchant for passport stamps. She writes Lies I’veTold My Therapist and conducts qualitative research for clients through Haller Strategies. Leveraging design-thinking techniques and 15+ years of media and newsroom experience including at USA Today and POLITICO, she helps brands and organizations uncover consumer insights and develop customer-centric strategies.
Hayley F. Hoffman is a trained as a psychodynamic clinical counselor focusing on helping couples and individuals to live relationally and to navigate life’s terms. She works from an empathic stance, helping clients through the process of noticing, identifying, and understanding patterns of behavior that, while once useful coping mechanisms are no longer working. Together with her clients, they explore attachment meaning, past and current dynamics, somatic experiences, and ways to consciously connect in relationships with self and others.
Krystle May Statler (she/her) is a Black multiracial artist living in Los Angeles and received her MFA from Otis College of Art & Design. She’s a co-founding editor for every other, a Los Angeles-based collective that publishes literary broadsides by writers from around the world. She serves as the Book Production manager for World Stage Press. Her artwork is featured in the Black Women for Wellness (Benign Fruit, 2021) and New Black City: A World Without Police (Trigger Fingers, 2019) exhibits. Her poems and essays are featured in 1455’s Movable Type, The Santa Fe Writers Project Quarterly, Cultural Weekly or are forthcoming. Her debut book, Losing Blood, was a finalist for the 2021 CAAPP Book Prize, judged by Douglas Kearney.
Susan Wadds, Winner of The Writers’ Union of Canada’s 2016 short prose contest, has had short fiction and poetry featured in literary journals and anthologies, including The Blood Pudding, Room, and carte blanche magazines. The first two chapters of her forthcoming novel, “What the Living Do,” won Lazuli Literary Group’s writing contest, and was published in Azure’s winter 2017 issue. “What the Living Do” is set for a spring 2024 release by Regal House Publishing. A graduate of the Humber School for Writers, Susan is certified in the Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) method of writing workshop facilitation. Since 2014, she has been leading writing workshops and retreats in Canada, internationally, and most recently, virtually. The past president and speaker coordinator for the Simcoe County Writers (WCSC), Susan is a member of the WCYR (Writers Community of York Region), MAA (Muskoka Authors Association), and WFWA (Women’s Fiction Writers Association) and professional member of the Canadian Authors’ Association (CAA).
Quentin Walston is an active pianist, composer, and music educator in the Washington DC area. He composes most often for piano, his jazz trio, and large ensembles, blending memorable melodies, striking rhythms, and adventurous improvisations. As a music and jazz educator, Quentin spreads the joy of learning and playing music to individuals of all ages. He was introduced to improvisation surprisingly through bluegrass and folk music. As the harmonica player in the folk band Jake and the Burtones, Quentin fostered a passion for improvising solos while appreciating the musicianship of others around him. Once that budding interest crossed over to his enthusiasm for piano, Quentin shortly began playing and learning jazz. Quentin went on to study jazz and piano at James Madison University, focusing on improvisation, composition, and arranging.
