Headlight Anthology, n° 25 : Status Quo

Alex Affonso, managing editor:

The 25th time something happens is always special. It’s often an excuse for a big celebration, or an anniversary edition, or a nostalgic recollection of the past 24 occurrences. But issue 25 of Headlight is not special because of the 24 that came before it. It’s special because of the people that made it happen—from our editors to our designers, our contributors to our readers. All of you play a crucial role in bringing a new issue of Headlight to life. This year, our amazing team of volunteers did an excellent job putting together the captivating stories and compelling poems written by our incredible contributors, all so we can share them with you, our beloved readers, now. We hope you’ll enjoy this issue. As you immerse yourself in these diverse perspectives—watching an episode of Britain’s Got Talent or a 60-year-old video of your father’s untimely death, or looking for Alison in a party or for God in a nightclub—laughing and crying along the way, we want you to consider how the pages of this journal frame (and are framed by) the status quo.

Misha Solomon, editor-in-chief:

Status Quo is in fact our theme for the issue, a theme our editorial team reverse-engineered after having selected the poetry and prose for Headlight 25. It’s a theme with a wink, an acknowledgement that status quo doesn’t sound like the most exciting or compelling theme for a literary journal, but that the status quo also runs counter to our society (we do, after all, live in a society), which seems more ever-changing than ever before. Each contributor has their own status quo, their own bubble, and, by sharing their words and worlds with us here, they’re bringing us in, thereby disrupting both their status quo and our own. It’s a little act of magic, and what could be more exciting or compelling than that?