an introduction
by the editor
Nephi Reflects on His Life:
by Lexie R. Kunz
El principio / The Beginning
by Gabriel González Núñez
Compassed About
by Lee Ann Setzer
Miriam
by Lorraine Jeffery
Sariah Murmurs in the Wilderness
(Not for the Last Time)
by Christopher Bissett
Zipporah Dreams of Keturah
by Robbie Taggart
Sacrificium Nephae
by Tygan Shelton
Elegy to a Dying King
by D.A. Cooper
Four and Seven
by Lee Allred
a note on the art: The 1903 painting Frühling (Spring) by the Jewish painter Lesser Ury (1861–1931) has been taken apart to illustrate Pikuach Nefesh. Ury was among the first generations of European Jews allowed to paint professionally (the first, generally agreed, had been born only sixty years earlier). Frühling, as a whole, shows a small cluster of trees growing alongside a dirt path as it passes alongside a river or lake. Without aid of the title, the time of year is ambiguous. The sky, in spots, is a delightsome blue but the trees are still an autumnal brown. Ury’s impressionist style makes looking closer for clarity a hopeless task. Instead, the best bet is to stand further away and take in the scene as a whole. But I’m not giving you that option. All the art in this issue is from Frühling but never do I show you the entire image at once. Just pieces.
Incidentally, when I checked to make sure the nameplate was colorblind-friendly, I learned that, in fact, the colorblind (excepting those with blue-cone monochromacy) will have it easier reading this issue’s nameplate. I think that’s beautiful (with an apology to those with blue-cone monochromacy).
You’ll see an oval detail from Frühling at the bottom of each page in this issue. Never the same detail. Yet no matter which portion of the painting it comes from, it will always lead you back to this page.
