Preface to sine cera: What I Think People Think About

by J.E. Remy

Published in:
sine cera: What I Think People Think About

This year a star 40 times bigger than our sun appeared in the night sky. Billions of years ago, the star exploded in a gamma ray burst powerful enough to vaporize any planet nearby. Only now is its light reaching us--the most distant object visible to the naked eye. And, as our eyes are able to see across the universe, creations built by our hands stretch across the solar system: the MESSENGER space probe reached Mercury, the Phoenix spacecraft landed on Mars, and the first privately developed space vehicle went into Earth orbit.

Over the past year we've heard messages of hope and change, and we've experienced building feelings of dread and frustration. The unknown effects of the Large Hadron Collider created a sense of unease, but tests ultimately failed to work. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Pakistan. Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike threatened coastlines, and a series of tornadoes struck the Southern United States as primary elections began. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue. And the U.S. has plunged into recession, beginning a world economic crisis where Americans worry about stock and gas prices, while cost and unavailability of food are triggering riots and unrest in many third world nations.

Even so, we are unwilling to accept the dark clouds hovering over us--and we shouldn’t. The world’s largest high-energy particle accelerator is being repaired and promises to answer questions about the birth of our universe. The first operations using bionic eyes took place in London. The Kivu war ended in the Congo. Bhutan held its first ever general elections. Bill Gates left his day-to-day position at Microsoft to focus on philanthropic efforts. We’ve seen and participated in protests for equal rights, marching through the streets of Salt Lake City. And we’ve elected the first African-American President of the United States, based on his economic platform, and his promise to refocus our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We’re living in a paradoxical world--one frustrated by the past and present, but tenaciously hopeful for the future.

This edition of sine cera is marked by that paradox. The DiverseCity Writing Series anthology has always been a collection of writing from people living in the Salt Lake community, but now these people are speaking their minds in an attempt to change their world. Frustrations are being aired, sometimes with angry words and strong language. And dreams are beginning to surface through the clouds of memory and imagination. A dialogue has started, with no end in sight.

Included are stories of reflection and regret, fear and hostility, aliens and the alienated, desire and disenchantment. You’ll find tales of heartache, manipulation and loneliness, but you’ll also find fond memories, achievements and magic. I invite you to join this community, and welcome you to share the thoughts in this collection: sine cera: What I Think People Think About.

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The preceding essay is the preface to the eleventh DiverseCity Writing Series anthology, sine cera: What I Think People Think About. The DiverseCity Writing Series is a community writing program offered through the SLCC Community Writing Center. This program offers multiple, on-going writing groups throughout the Salt Lake metropolitan area. These open-interest and specialized groups offer inspiration through feedback and writing prompts. And, twice a year, they offer their writers the opportunity to achieve publication through the sine cera anthology, with selections from the publication read at a public reading.

To listen to a KCPW podcast of the December 2008 reading, visit www.kcpw.org/article/7087.

For more information about the SLCC Community Writing Center, visit www.slcc.edu/cwc.

For more information about the DiverseCity Writing Series and sine cera, visit www.slcc.edu/cwc/dws.