Open Ceilings: Summer 2021: Waiting Room

by Mechanism Press

With Waiting Room, we picked a theme that could speak to the state of limbo that burdens our days. We hoped to lessen that collective weight and make our patience a little easier to bear. As submissions trickled in, we were struck by the separateness and individuality of each piece. There were many ways to wait and many rooms for waiting.

In “Dementia,” the waiting room is a mind, with walls slowly shutting. “Lifeblood” builds a space from scratch. Roads bind the work of Bianca Law. Windows and doors confine “It’s Not So Bad” and “Portal to Another Realm”. Memories haunt “Green” and “Letters to a Dead Indian.” Soon, however, the rooms begin to cohere, leaving only the singular Waiting Room.

In places, this collection is painful, anxious, and despairing. Such is our world. But beneath it all lie hope and love, glowing beside a single truth: someday, the waiting will end.

187 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021