My Dear Reader,

Do you know that magical moment when you find out someone has read the same book as you? You know the one I’m talking about. The sparkling realization of  oh, yes, here’s someone who understands this thing about me! The kinship of gosh, yes, I hated that character, too. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, it’s a learning experience—wow, I never would have thought about that on my own. Even if you have differing or even conflicting opinions from that person, you forge a connection with another human being solely by virtue of having read the same work.

Reading is one of those rare activities that, while the act itself is a solitary one, brings people together. Reading builds bridges, in the same way I used to sit on the carpet for hours with multicolored LEGO blocks, smashing together pieces of all shapes and sizes. My only goal was to build, to make connections between unlikely pieces. That is what reading does, and you don’t even have to worry about stepping on the pieces when you accidentally leave them out.

Nathan Sawaya is an artist who has built (no pun intended) an entire career out of Legos. He recreates famous works of art in tiny Lego blocks in addition to his own original artwork. A few months ago, I went to his exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, before there was even a hint of the pandemic to come and while we were still choosing pieces to put in Volume 24. My biggest takeaway from the visit, besides remembering just how cool Legos are, was a quote of Sawaya’s, plastered inside the exhibit on a purple plaque. “Art makes better humans, art is necessary in understanding the world, and art makes people happy. Undeniably, art is not optional.”

Right now, the world is facing a pandemic, and we are limited to seeing each other virtually, whether that be by email, text, or video chat. Now is when we need to be better humans. Now is when we need to understand the world. Now is when we need to find ways to make us happy.

The feeling I described when you find someone who has read the same thing as you is one of those “small victory” feelings, the kind that make this life worth living and the world feel a tad kinder. Now more than ever, I say we cling to those small victories. We cling to connection, to bridges, to art. It is not optional.

Nathan Sawaya takes pieces and makes a whole, and now it’s time for us to do the same. We hope Volume 24 can help you build bridges and find connections. We hope Volume 24 can help you create your whole.

Yours,

Melinda Mayden
Editor, Glass Mountain