Letter from the editors

by Lois Armas and Noora Pitkälä

We jumped from last autumn, the first time of trying Nexo as a weekly group, to this spring in what felt like a blink of an eye. We wrote new exercises, we refreshed our ideas, and we got a rush of eagerness to meet our new crew when we read their wonderful applications.

We weren't free, though, from the challenge that everyone else was facing, had been facing, in this very grey period: we prepared to meet online while pondering and fearing: how to create the necessary intimacy to be vulnerable, to read aloud, to concentrate in writing after probably eight hours of already looking at a screen?

We didn't know that the answer laid on them, our wonderful spring group. Week after week we saw each other through the screen, yet felt incredibly connected, close, and safe. We wrote, yes, we wrote a lot, but we also discussed books, memories, dreams, words, thesis writing, plans for future travel. As a blessing in disguise, meeting online allowed us to reach further; one of our participants joined us from Canada, two others saved the commute from Järvenpää.

The result of these spring encounters is a theme: (Adventitious) Roots, based on which the following texts have been written. Roots as in childhood memories, as in laying new ground for oneself, as in flirting with our principles. Here you will read about roots that compose a new strange dish, about roots that spread all around the globe following the stories of our families, as well as roots that sprout plants to give us comfort.

With each Nexo that starts, we are also strengthening our roots, our connections with the creative minds around us. We look forward to seeing what this growing community brings to all of us, the ideas that sprout in our collaborative publications or in our writers cafés, where each Nexo participant is welcome to return to.

We are happy you found your way here. We hope you take a text or two with you, a text to think about, to admire, to feel proud of, to inspire.

Enjoy your reading,

Lois Armas & Noora Pitkälä