Volume 2007 Parnassus

Editor's Introduction

I like ties. I like to wear them. I like to put them together with great shirts and then wear them. But I don't do it often because I respect the idea of girls wearing ties so much that I can't bring myself to wear on unless I have the perfect outfit for the perfect moment. I think I've only worn a tie once this year.

Then one day I told my friend that she should definitely add a tie to a certain outfit she was wearing. Right then it was clearly the perfect combination for the perfect moment. And she even pulled off the tie better than I ever could, because it looked great on her overall. That day I glanced at the measure of my appreciation for girls with ties and saw that it was higher than ever, even though I wasn't wearing the tie myself, because I had helped to orchestrate not only beauty but perfection. Putting together Parnassus has been nearly as exhilarating as that life-as-art moment.

Now I want to talk about how you might read and understand this edition of the journal. I do agree with Virginia Woolf: "The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions." So I won't tell you "how" to read Parnassus 2007. However, I'd like to deal briefly with some assumptions you might bring to the journal and guide you in the direction of instinct, removing some ready barriers.

Most importantly, I'd ask you to embrace the fact that others who are a part of your Christian community, who rely on the same Scriptures as you do, might be expressing entirely or slightly different views on life and religion. Warning: at least one poem in this book has already sparked some theological controversy, and I'm sure others might do the same. This is not to say that Parnassus or Taylor University stands behind every theological assumption included here, but we do believe that acknowledging this variety of voices is extremely important. (I must note that we have certainly tried to keep our content to a level of cleanliness and Christian decency.) Additionally, several pieces in this journal seem intentionally open to a wide variety of interpretations, as though they're patiently waiting for readers to come along and give them some significance. Of course Parnassus could not possibly promote any single interpretation, so I'd ask that you not allow the stamp of the Christian university to make you feel like each piece has already been claimed for one "obviously" Christian interpretation.

In the end, please do go with your own instincts, your own reason. Yes, you might listen and react or you might listen and agree, but either way you can appreciate the sincerity and skill of the following artists.