EDITORIAL NOTE
One of the services that writers and artists can offer is to show us things we
have missed, to imagine things we haven’t thought of, to ask questions that
have not occurred to us.
It might be anything from a simple shape seen in nature to a complex
emotional response to life; from a new combination of ideas to a frank challenge
to our values. Perhaps afterwards we may recognise these things for ourselves
in our daily lives, and stop and admire or ponder them.
The authors in this first edition of Margins were all set the same challenge:
to write a story on the theme of ‘margins’ itself, in less than 500 words. It is
a tough assignment, but one that imposes a creative focus. You can only talk
about one thing, set a mood, explore an emotion, create one moment of conflict.
The writers, members of the Morphē Writers Collective, are all Christians.
Whereas some people in the name of Christianity sadly take a rather limited and
even judgemental view of the outside world, these writers display intelligent
and sympathetic concern for those living on the margins of life. What does
it feel like on the edge of an alien culture, or of your own social group? How
would you respond to the abrupt intrusion of mortality into your expectations?
If God is good, why is life so frustrating?
You will find that not all the narrators share their author’s worldview, and
it is with this conflict and irony that they invite you to explore their questions.
I hope you will enjoy the experience of looking through their eyes.
Nigel Halliday
EDITORIAL NOTE
NIGEL HALLIDAY
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