Out of chaos has come form. Translated: somehow from the mounds of paper, spiral notebooks, and envelopes heaped upon my desk, the premier issue of The Awakenings Review has emerged. I sit exalted. Really I shouldn't be so surprised, given the scores of talented writers, editors, and supporters who have contributed to seeing this project come to fruition.
The other day art activist Gayle Bluebird asked me some penetrating questions about The Awakenings Review. What were its message, audience, and mission statement? I admit that I was slightly drawn off guard. It's not that I don't think these things are important - it's just that sometimes these larger issues elude me. Art is in the walking, not in surmising direction. Literature is in the writing, not interpreting one's own path. But shortsightedness can lead you up blind alleys. So, I concede Gayle's point. The Awakenings Review does demand a thoughtful analysis of its mission. Settled, now, I can stand back and look at what we created…and try and make sense of the chaos.
Let me first give you a little of our history. In the fall of 1996 several artists in the Chicago area asked for and were granted exhibit space at the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Illinois' annual conference. The following spring we erected the first Awakenings Art Show. The results have been so favorable and ongoing that the fourth annual show was exhibited in May of this year. From the Awakenings Art Show emerged the Awakenings Project from which The Awakenings Review has come. The University of Chicago Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation gave impetus to the journal's organization, and with the help of Dr. Patrick W. Corrigan, seed money was applied for and granted by the Enterprise Foundation.
At the pain of using the "C" word, The Awakenings Review is a consumer organized and consumer run review of the literary work of the nation's mental health consumers…not quite entirely. In this first issue we have worked with survivors, former patients, family members and friends. We will continue to do so. Whatever the nuances of our constitution, we view The Awakenings Review as a literary vehicle more than a political vehicle. Where does that leave us? It leaves us presenting ourselves to the literary world with the distinct flavor of a mental health consumer constituency.
It is therefore our mission to assemble, review, and publish works of relevance to mental health consumers, to cultivate the literary and artistic talents of our body of writers and artists, and to enlighten our readers to the issues and concerns we face. So much for the serious talk, now for the gratitude! I'd first like to thank Patrick Corrigan for his grant writing skills and for mentoring us in this project. And special thanks to the Enterprise Foundation for its generosity in providing start-up money for this enterprise. Paul McComas lent us the insight of a discerning literary mind when he agreed to be associate editor. I'd like to recognize, too, our list of other readers and editors which includes Grant Bell, Ben Beyerlein, the late Trish Evers, Margaret Giesecke, Garth House, Sandy Mazurek, Gabe Mitchell, Vi Orr, and James Secor. Gayle Bluebird deserves special acknowledgment for her insightful comments on this issue. We also would like to thank Irene O'Neill-Sam for a thorough and capable proofread. Finally, we'd like to warmly thank all our contributors, whom we do care about, and you the reader, for being a part of the wonderful project.
Robert Lundin: Editor