SQN - Sine Qua Non - Issue 1 - Journal - Page 19
argues that close reading should be considered an interpersonal act that synthesizes the interior
lives of the readers and writers with the created text. He suggests we account for the emotion
we bring to a text as we read it. Finally, Jermaine Richards’ “Don't Try to Catch Me; You Don't
Have Your Net: Radial Suspense and Ripples from the Irradiant Node of Blackness” considers
a new way of writing suspense 昀椀ction. Richards draws from an experience where, in an attempt
to use blackness to break conventional form, his writing was challenged on the grounds that it
did not meet the demands of literary craft. He revisits this experience and conceptualizes “Radial
Suspense” to account for the tensions that arise between literary craft and blackness.
Although we may not share the same identity and experiences as these writers, the way
they articulate their personal creative processes leaves space for others to interpret and apply
for themselves. I invite us all to consider their craft and analytical approaches. I hope we can
incorporate their o昀昀erings into our own personal processes. Then, I encourage you to write.
Write from the personal—unashamed and unrestrained. And if you just so happen to try a new
technique in your writing, send it to us in 2026. Show us what personal means to you.
Janelle Gray
Managing Editor, Theory & Craft
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