PRACTICE defined
“I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. In each it is the performance of a dedicated precise set of acts, physical or intellectual, from which comes shape of achievement, a sense of one's being, a satisfaction of spirit...”
-Martha Graham
prac·tice
VERB:
tr.
1. To do or perform habitually or customarily; make a habit of: practices courtesy in social situations.
2. To do or perform (something) repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill: practice a dance step.
3. To give lessons or repeated instructions to; drill: practiced the students in handwriting.
4. To work at, especially as a profession: practice law.
5. To carry out in action; observe: practices a religion piously.
6. Obsolete: To plot (something evil). Trick, scheme, or intrigue.
- The American Heritage Dictionary
[* PREACHING TO THE CHOIR: A Note to potential contributors
The word PRACTICE brings to mind notions of craft. Writers and artists and photographers are skilled practitioners of craft, and magazines such as this one celebrate this fact in all of its beauty and diversity. That is all true. But what we also had in mind when we settled on the title was Reading, which is its own form of practice. We want more readers. We like to believe that more people should experience this interesting and worthwhile work -- we'd even venture to say that outside of academia more people want the chance to "understand" it -- and so we are trying to create a publication that immediately addresses the issue, these issues. For one small example, most contributors are provided the chance to introduce themselves or their work in a dedicated page at the start of their "section". These artist statements vary greatly (no constraints except in word count) and first feedback tells us that they are helpful to folks who might be arriving at this type of work for the first time. We also mix "traditional" prose (tending to an international focus, though not exclusively) with "innovative" poetry (awkward labels) because both offer a form of travel that we enjoy. We also believe that the disciplines belong together, and that readers who are drawn into the publication through more familiar essays will likely stick around for the challenging stuff -- especially if there are signposts along the way. You might fairly argue that none of this is particularly original. Even so, we wanted to let you know what we have in mind. When we say PRACTICE, we also mean reading.
(And tea, but that's another story...)
