About UsFounded in 2006, Xelas Magazine is an independent online quarterly publishing works of prose, poetry, and non-fiction, as selected by its editorial team. Xelas Magazine's name refers to the transformer/trickster spirit of Lummi mythology. According to their stories, Xelas (pronounced Zales) was responsible for turning all the monsters of the proto-age into the rocks, trees, animals and people of the modern world. Perhaps most intriguing in this story is that to create the present world, Xelas regularly stole from the "Sky Chief" -- the sun and the moon, for instance, were snatched like jewels to adorn our sky. This suggests that the world was originally created according to a great maker's design, but was later recreated, and continues to be so whenever Xelas is up to his tricks. From an artistic perspective, Xelas is therefore a fantastic representation of the aims of storytelling -- that constant world-building and re-building through stylistic "trickery" (or artifice). And as a publication devoted to exploring a sense of 'place' in literature, we feel it is only right to honor such a powerful folk hero from the vicinity in which this magazine first originated -- namely, the Pacific Northwest Maritimes. About the Editors Margaret Clark, Co-Editor: Taking a literal approach to actor Alan Alda's declaration, "you have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition," I recently moved to Victoria, British Columbia, where I'm using my new-found objectivity on life in Toronto, Ontario to complete a first collection of poetry, as well as a longer work of fiction.  Jennifer Armentrout, Co-Editor:Over a decade ago, I left the wilderness of my youth for the comforts of this city. To the west lie the Puget Sound and the Olympics, to the east, the Cascades. On very lucky days, I can spot the peak of Mount Rainier. Everything is so green here, and wide open. But I miss the close-packed pine trees of home, the red clay dirt. I am an exile of the South. |
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