If ever there were a summer where the sun mocks, it’s this. Entangled in an election year, with race issues in the foreground and virus-impacted to varying degrees, our world seems to contrast images of children in bright suits on a splash pad or chairs rocking on a porch at sunset. And yet, I’m reminded that it’s winter for half of the world, and not everyone feels the brunt of killings and COVID in the exact way as we do in America. In fact, other countries suffer longer and harder with similar and different brands of tragedies.
Approaching America’s birthday, though, we reflect. For many of us at Segullah, this is a time of reckoning—a time when art both escapes and grounds us. In this journal, we sense a call to unify as sisters in Christ, as women who belong to a global organization, and as artists who strive to represent the shared and unique experiences we encounter in our communities.
First, we feature the print-making of our own staff member, Elizabeth Pinborough, who, like some among us, grapples with trauma and health issues, and yet rises to the extraordinary in sharing her gift. Next, in an interview with authors, Dr. Fatimah Salleh and Margaret Olsen Hemming, Linda reviews a long-needed perspective on The Book of Mormon—scholarly, female, and from a person of color. And, as sisters belonging to the Relief Society, we join with Religious Studies scholar, Dr. Kathleen Flake, in her funeral tribute to Aileen Hales Clyde, former General Relief Society President. Capping the journal, we re-publish a poem from Terresa Wellborn that captures our awe at God and Nature, joining us with the earth we all inhabit as “guests.”
I trust you’ll recognize us striving for unity and invite you to connect with us through these Summer 2020 Journal offerings.
Table of Contents
1. Interview with Elizabeth Pinborough: Print Maker, Creative, Advocate
2. Artist Statement: Elizabeth Pinborugh
