From the editors: Penumbra has served as a vital creative outlet at GFA for decades. A space for students and faculty to share their writing and art with a thoughtful audience, it has united and uplifted our community. In this spirit, we have decided not to include any pieces about the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Although we acknowledge the impact of the virus on each of us, we want Penumbra to celebrate all of the work that came before this shift in our lives, and for it to remain a refreshing space amidst all the chaos and distress of these last months. As Louise Bourgeois beautifully captured in our epigraph, art has the power to heal the wounds that fear and challenge inflict. In this unprecedented time of anxiety and difficulty, Penumbra seeks to remind us all of the restorative power of art and writing. We hope the work in this book brings you some peace of mind and, in the words of Naomi Shihab Nye, helps your spirit, “gather itself back together again.”
