On the New Year
January 2026
from the other side of the screen
Editorial Column by Alexa Manning
The Gregorian calendar places the new year in a seemingly arbitrary darkness, at least for us in the Northern Hemisphere. A dart thrown at the sun’s orbit to determine the reset point of the cycle. Rather than the first bloom of spring or the decay of autumn, we end and begin the new year in the middle of a blank, cold dark.
Perhaps the purifying snow of colder climates signifies a fresh start. Perhaps the dead landscape is ready to revive and flourish.
Perhaps the short days and long nights represent the nothing from which all is created. The blackness of the sky is a reminder of the emptiness that came before the Big Bang. Perhaps it tickles the recesses of the mind where ideas are born. This emptiness, where humans find inspiration to fill space, is the perfect time to redefine oneself.
I believe that this is where poetry comes from, not just stories and fantasies but also ugly truths come out to play on the page. And I think that this is where the urge to name new year resolutions comes from; hours upon hours of darkness out the window causes one to look inward for entertainment instead.
What is art but introspection made manifest? And is a new year resolution a piece of the inner darkness brought into the open to be reshaped? The only constant in life is change; the end of a cycle to bring new beginnings. It is distinctly human to be mutable and it is this mutability that allows one to create and another to be affected.
This is—I think—what we are doing here at Creation. As writers ourselves we dive into our own depth. But as editors we must be willing to meet another person’s storm and be brave enough to help shape it.
We began the year with mere ideas for blank pages, our accepted pieces floating constellations that had not yet found their place. Next month we will have a complete magazine, printed and tangible. And we will do it again, continuing the cycle from dark to light, imagination to fruition.
It is a beautiful process to be a part of, one that I cherish because of the way it affects and inspires me. I wonder what the rest of this year—and the next issue—will bring. Rather, I wonder what will be born from the dark?
My best wishes for the re-start of the cycle.
