Editor’s Introduction

Migration is not just crossing a border or flying South for the winter; it is an encapsulation of journey and survival that presents itself in endless ways. Tales of Migration is a collection of creative nonfiction pieces and poetry from writers who wanted to share their personal experiences with movement. These authors were prompted to bring us stories and poems related to migration from anywhere and everywhere. The topics we received range from the smallest shifts: driving down the road, to the biggest: moving continents, thus providing readers with a substantial variety of themes and emotional tangents to delve into and explore. This collection bends the definition of what migration is and what it means for each unique individual. We see exodus through many sets of eyes in this book, and in turn get to explore so many different journeys. Migration is not just crossing a line or border, it can be anything.

As far as my own migration goes, I moved to Minnesota when I was seven from Columbus, Ohio. Both states have cornfields and ice cream, but Ohio is where I can get Graeter’s. Ohio is where I can see my family. My parents, brother, and I are the only ones separated from them, and because of that, we’re the ones who aren’t known as well. I’ve had to work to build and maintain relationships with a family that is so far away. All of this to say, I’m lucky they aren’t in another country, and maybe I’m also lucky they don’t live down the street. There is a balance in migration that is hard to recognize if your life never shifts. Tales of Migration has taught me that Change and Journey are friends we have the privilege of getting to know better as our lives go on.

The beauty of this collection is its variety. Do you enjoy communication? Angel Wings by (author’s name) sketches out migrating through grief. My Life with Annie by (author’s name) is about the journey through a relationship that isn’t good for you. Maybe you’re here for bird migration, and if so, check out Migration: Chicadees by Sandy Feinstein, or A Meditation on Migration in My Backyard by Louise M. Beyea. While every piece in this collection is touching in its own way, I was particularly moved by Harshita Srivastava’s piece Shifting Bricks, Plaster and Paint, which takes readers through the sometimes uncomfortable shift of leaving one’s childhood home.

I journeyed through so many migrations while editing, putting together, and reading these works with my peers, and have come out of this process a better woman. The future work I do as an author will be both guided and molded by this project. Tales of Migration is the story of shifting, and is a collection of hard work from four different continents and so many talented individuals. As someone who has been writing her whole life, and begs her friends for editing opportunities, I am proud to have assisted with this process in every way possible. Indeed, it was a beautiful opportunity to see migration without actually having to migrate, because that’s a journey in itself.

Thank you for accompanying us through the many shifts of migration. We hope you enjoy this collection of works that has managed to be sewn together into one beautiful experience. The choice to migrate through it is yours.