Molly McCully Brown, “The Human Voice” | Editorial Statement (Page 3)

• McCully Brown lists ways humans use their voices: to whisper, keen, shout, grumble, implore, wail, and sing. What other ways do people use their voices in this issue? What uses currently feel most natural or necessary?
• This essay names songs that have been important to the writer. What songs have mattered most in your life? How does music affect your experience of the world or the way you think about the human voice?
• McCully Brown draws our attention to Proverbs 31. How do you understand this passage? Did any other moments in the issue lead you to consider these lines or other scripture?

Rick Archer and Bruce Buescher, “The
 Visual
 Arts:
 What
 Remains:
 The
 Making
 of
 Ellsworth 
Kelly’s
 Last
 Work” | Visual Arts (Page 88)

• Archer contrasts Ellsworth Kelly’s lack of interest in meaning-making with his own tendency to look for meaning. Do you more often seek to ascribe meaning or embrace mystery? How do you navigate the apparent tension between the two?
• Archer highlights the profound, even transformative joy experienced by viewers of Austin. What kinds of spaces evoke joy for you? Have you had a transformative experience of joy?

Susan L. Miller, “The Crack” | Poetry (Page 7)

• The poem opens in March and mentions Easter; it closes with “behind the bunting of rainbow flags…time / smashes together hard enough to crack it / in America, in 2025.” How do these themes and the song “Gimme Shelter” interact to create meaning in this poem? What do you sense the narrator is suggesting?
• How do the above themes resonate with you in this season?

Joshua Stamper, “Subversively
 Human:
 A
 Conversation
 with
 Ted
 Gioia” | Interview (Page 105)

• “Art, the humanities, and spirituality will be our last lines of defense,” Gioia says. “I see it as part of my life’s mission to support their restorative powers.” What defense or restorative powers do these disciplines offer you?
• Gioia notes the essential role of silence: “Silence is always part of music, and great musicians respect it.” What role does silence play in your own life or creative work?