Art keeps good alive in the worst of times. In the face of ugliness, pain, and death, it's art that has the power to open us all to a healing imagining of new possibility; it's art that whispers to the collective that even in the ashes of loss, life always grows again. That's why right now, in this tumultuous time of war and pandemic, we need poets more than we need politicians.In response to the multitude of global crises we're currently experiencing, editor Stefanie Raffelock put out a much-needed call to her writing community for art to uplift and inform the world, and the authors of She Writes Press answered. Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis - a sometimes comforting, sometimes devastating, but universally relatable collection of prose, poetry, and art about living through difficult times like these - is the result. Addressing topics including grief and loss, COVID-19 and war in Ukraine, the gravity of need and being needed, the broad range of human response to crisis in all its forms, and more, these pieces explore how we can find beauty, hope, and deeper interpretation of world events through art - even when the world seems like it's been turned inside out and upside-down.

Stephanie Raffelock is a graduate of Naropa University's program in writing and poetics. She has penned articles for numerous publications, including The Aspen Times, Quilters Magazine, Care2.com, Nexus Magazine, Omaha Lifestyles, and The Rogue Valley Messenger. Currently she writes a monthly column for SixtyandMe.com. A recent transplant to Austin, Texas, she enjoys life with her husband, Dean, and their Labrador retriever, Jeter (yes, named after the great Yankee shortstop). Raffelock lives an active life that she fills with hiking, Pilates, and swimming in an attempt to offset the amount of time that she spends in her head thinking up stories and essays.