Dear Readers,

I have always been fascinated by the notion of “image” – while an abstract notion that manifests in various ways among writers, “image” is something that feels universally understood. Our world is one that exists in absurdity; one where image in all aspects is malleable. We see this everywhere in the physical world – celebrity images photoshopped to meet the so-called public image of beauty. A variety of texts on changing self-image. Our own altered mental images of places and times from our past which evolve as we call them back to our conscious minds. And yet our understanding of what image is and how image affects us remains unaltered. In this way, image unites us.

In this, our fourth issue of Mason’s Road, you will find poems that depict image in a number of ways, united in that they each decidedly speak to the emotional and aesthetic weight of image. It is my hope that you will find yourself immersed in their work – enlightened by their individual perspectives on image, and united with them in the human experience. I wish you a beautiful reading experience – one that inspires you to write ever more boldly. To taste, to see, to smell and feel the world with more vivid attention – to dream in color.

Cheers,

Linsey Jayne
Poetry Editor