Volume 16 (2015)

Editor's Note

It all begins with a flicker of inspiration. As individuals, we perceive objects, people, and scenes differently; each person recognizing beauty and value in objects for an array of qualities. We form ideas inspired by those perceptions. Those of you who are familiar with the creative process might be acquainted with the tension that develops with the formation of an idea. We see or hear or feel and know we must create. Until we express that idea, we carry this tension-this need to release our thoughts-that is only relieved bit by bit as words fill a page, or brushstrokes texturize a canvas.

But even on the most individual level, we are still at whim to the atmosphere of the community we are surrounded by. As we can see over the course of time, it’s the individuals in a society who collect to form communities, and they are in constant change. People come and go, some merely visit, and others linger for as long as the community serves them or they feel they can serve the community. Creativity flows freely throughout these communities, vitalizing them with new ideas, perspectives, and stories. Communities-not unlike the people who compose them-are centers of creative flow and can serve us as the greatest source of motivation and challenge. Without these communities (not unlike the Bryant Literary Review), how would we, as artists, improve? How would we know where we stand in the context of other creators? How would we share our creations with others who will take the time to read/view in search for meaning?

Without the guidance of Professor Tom Chandler and Professor Tom Roach, the Bryant University College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the dedication of all student editors, this edition of the BLR would not have been possible. I thank you for taking the time to read this special collection of creations, our sixteenth edition; and as a result, share in this community of literary appreciation and enjoyment and to keep a beautiful tradition alive.

Laura Sprague
Student Editor