Hello lovely readers of the Beaver,
We’re absolutely overjoyed to release our 5th issue of this dam magazine. Our reservoir hearts continue to be flooded with admiration and gratitude for every supporter, contributor, and reader of our special dream project. We strive to spotlight voices and artistic expressions to help them grow into the open field of recognition they deserve. We believe that the world of art and writing should be accessible and revered, like a public creek teeming with keystone wildlife. Art is, after all, the ash left behind in the wildfire of human experience. We hope that Beaver continues to be an urn containing these pivotal memories and sentiments.
Memories threaded throughout art we internalize are the cruxes of empathy and unity of people. But I’m getting sappy, someone gnaw me down to the root. This issue is overflowing with dam divine art containing the magical, the mundane, and the microscopic. The whimsical ostranenie, the cathartic bliss or dread of day-to-day, the petri dishes of intricate worlds. The triple-whammy of these elements generates private intimate apocalypses, revivals, and epiphanic shifts that grant readers access to better understanding loaded pervasive human conditions like grief, mental health issues, and lost love, and how individuals around the world perceive, respond to, and salve these widely shared experiences.
We are dedicating this issue to our dear friend Hayden Donnelly who passed away in October 2022. He was an angel on Earth. Two of his nonfiction pieces are in this issue. Hayden was a selfless peer and friend to us throughout our undergrad creative writing workshops and outside of the classroom. He loved to write hilarious coming-of-age nonfiction and draw colorful anime characters like Luffy from “One Piece.” He lived next to the garden Haley managed and was always up at the crack of dawn planting seeds, hauling wheelbarrows of compost in July humidity, and building planters even when it was just him and Haley. He always showed his love and care for other creators, constantly offering to workshop our poems, brainstorm ideas, or just listen when we needed to vent. He was one of Beaver Magazine’s biggest supporters when we were first starting this project, pushing us to strive to grow this magazine far beyond our initial seed. His potent humor and intoxicating bold voice on and off the page will be missed and remembered. He was one of our favorite people on this Earth, we will love and miss him forever.
We send our warmest condolences to anyone that knew Hayden, or anyone that is missing a lost loved one. Grief is oftentimes consuming, and we hope you are finding ways to feel peace and revere the people important to you. We hope that this issue gives you a space to breathe, reflect, and gain insight into a mosaic of other lives.
Thank you again for investing time and energy into reading and submitting to Beaver Magazine. Don’t stop reading and writing! But if you need a break, take it! Lay down, eat juicy fresh fruit, listen to your favorite album, put on a face mask, bask in the sun like a turtle for a couple minutes. You deserve it. Don’t get burned out doing what you love.
Cheers to the new year,
Haley, Ellie, Adam
The Editors
Beaver Magazine 