Callaloo

Transition: the only constant is change…

n. the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.

v. undergo or cause to undergo a process or period of transition.

We like to believe that things are certain, static, reliable, when in fact everything is constantly in flux. At every moment, our bodies are aging, our children are growing up, our environment and the ground beneath our feet are shifting. We marry, we divorce, we move, we lose jobs or choose new ones, violence enters our lives, we get sick, we lose loved ones, we are failed by our leaders, we are surprised by good fortune. Sometimes the shifts are within us—like a discovery or a loss of faith—other times our world changes around us, leaving us in search of our center. With each shift, we grow and adapt, or we resist. 

Callaloo seeks scholarship, personal essays, fiction, poetry, and visual art focused on the question of how we grapple with or choose change, assimilate it, make ourselves anew in the face of it. Submissions might focus on (but should not be limited to):

• Political change, upheaval, transfer of power, and war
• Shifts in family structure
• Immigration, migration, changes in home and language
• Identity and allegiance: sociocultural, gender, racial, spiritual
• Crossing class/education barriers
• The natural environment/landscape/climate
• Birth, aging, illness, and death
• Sexual awakening, discovery
• Moving through developmental stages (childhood, adolescence, adulthood, middle age, senior years)
• The impact of technological and scientific discoveries
• Theft and loss

Deadline: May 31, 2024

Articles should follow the MLA Style Guide (3rd edition).