A clerestory allows light and air into the body of a church. Here, each story is like a window through which the pain and beauty of the human experience shine.
For over three years, Clerestory Magazine provided editorial space for writers and artists to explore subjects at the intersection of action and contemplation. Through eight online editions and one 190-page book on contemplation, Clerestory fostered dialogue across lines of difference, celebrated beauty, and engaged three fundamental elements of the human experience: being, becoming, and belonging.
We intentionally published the work of artists from diverse social locations and work from every continent but Antarctica. Our unique form of searching storytelling allowed writers space to explore the personal and social dimensions of their experiences, from seeking asylum to grieving a spouse; from being incarcerated to becoming a parent; from the mysteries of the cosmos to the mysteries of the body; and beyond. We hope we made space for knowledge of difference, injustice, and common humanity to coexist.
We also published long-form interviews with lauded activists and leaders working on related subjects. We learned from prison reform experts, peacebuilders, climate activists, therapists, artists, and authors. Their wisdom gave shape to each issue and allowed readers to engage in their calls to action and support the real-world work of social healing and human flourishing.
The connection between inner and outer work - a bridge drawn for centuries by contemplatives and community leaders alike - was the magazine's lynchpin. Our art served a purpose: to refine our attention and cultivate virtues that serve the wider world. We felt, and still do, that receiving the lived experiences of others helps to make us softer, teaching us to hold difference, vulnerability, and suffering more tenderly. Compassion, in our view, is the seed of justice.
While the time our publishing has come to a close, for now at least, our deepest hope is that this repository of human wisdom can serve as a little flame for this broader vision. Until our paths cross again, we'll leave you with these transcendent lines from Mary Oliver. Remember:
it is a serious thing
just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world.
About the Editor
Sarah James is the founder and editor-in-chief of Clerestory Magazine A graduate of Yale University and Middlebury College, she is a biracial woman of color and writes about feminism, contemplative spirituality and culture. Her work appears elsewhere in Sojourners, Earth & Altar, The Porch, and many others.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks Connie Barton of Studio Connie for branding and design; Spevack Loeb for website development and design; and Studio Faculty for anthology design and production.
Other partners over the years have included printmaker Hannah Cousins; Hemlock Printers; Meridian Printing; The Garden Hill Fund of the Mountain School; and many talented photographers across the globe.