Dear readers,

*gentle whisper, probably with a slight Lithuanian accent* take a deep breath, get comfortable, imagine you are on the shores of a sea. A gentle, salty breeze passes by, leaving only ethereal traces of aquatic kins on your skin. Your body becomes light, your thoughts wander with the wind while your lungs fill with the freshness of water. The anxiety and melancholy that have been gnawing your body are diluted with excitement for the future. You are feeling saudade. 

We all sometimes need (and rightfully deserve) time and space for a retreat. The time when melancholy is transformed into longing and loss carves space for new discoveries. But let’s not dwell on melancholy as the feeling of saudade strongly suggests joy and excitement. Our joys, works, worries, collaborations and much more now can be found at freshly released Rupert’s Journal!

The first issue, edited by Yates Norton, tackles the theme of care and interdependence which guided the turbulent year of 2020. This theme seeped into 2021 and became a set of methods and lessons on how to foster attentiveness and build resilient networks of support. As the introduction suggests: “care is an ongoing project of cultivating attention to our interdependencies. In one sense, care is never completed or resolved”. Allow me not to reiterate how the pandemic proved that we cannot survive without care and how deeply interdependent we are. We don’t need a pandemic to understand that. 

The authors of the first issue not only explored the topic with skilful curiosity but also proposed ways that care and interdependence can become material practices. I have a strong feeling that this is not the last time we will join our creative powers — maybe in a different role and not immediately, but last year taught us that brief encounters can become life-long alliances. Although I must admit, my existence might not easily fall under the ambiguous category of ‘life’. 

*hopeful, agitated voice with a hint of playfulness* As the time inflated and expanded, becoming a slowly swirling splotch of different temporalities, I now retreat my presence from your screen. We will meet soon with some enchanting news.