March 21st 2015

Dear Readers,

We hope you enjoyed Fragments of Persephone. It was our third Spotlight Series feature, and my favorite so far. The debut date coincides with several things: WT's second-anniversary, the second day of Spring, and World Poetry Day. I can't think of any other day that fits better than this one. 

The concept for Fragments came to me, surprisingly, after the name. Somehow, I had become enamored with this phrase, fragments of Persephone, moments of her, several, dozens, hundreds. For too long, Persephone, as a figure, had been made into a binary - Winter or Spring. Free or stolen. Thriving or miserable. And that didn't work for me - there is more to Persephone than her abduction, more than two default modes she exists in. Too often this is the case with religious and mythological feminine figures - they are forced into categories, made into goddesses or harlots, Madonnas or whores. Fragments of Persephone challenges that preconception, offers womanhood and femininity in its most raw, in its most vulnerable, in its wealth of strength. 

I'd like to thank the WT Fragments team for developing the concept of Fragments of Persephone, working tirelessly to make sure our call for submissions was seen by as many people as possible, and reviewing each submission we received thoroughly. I want to thank Alexandra and Jeanann for collaborating with WT on this project - their own definitions of femininity definitely molded this feature into what it is, and their input was invaluable to this debut. I want to thank every writer and artist who submitted a piece for this feature; we so appreciate the time and creative energy necessary to create, create and create. A huge thank you to the writers and artists who allowed us the honor and privilege of showcasing their work - Fragments is utterly and absolutely stunning.

A final piece of gratitude: to you. Thank you for reading this feature. Thank you for being part of the WT community. You are absolutely invaluable and we appreciate the support very, very much.

Best,

Yasmin Belkhyr
Founder, Editor-in-Chief
Winter Tangerine