The World Out There • by Alec Follett and Matthew Zantingh 1

Hamilton Arts & Letters Matthew would like to acknowledge that he lives and works on Treaty 4 territory, traditional lands of the nêhiyawak, Anihšināpēk, Dakota, Nakoda, Lakota, and the Métis/Michif nation. Alec would like to acknowledge that he lives and works on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Attawandaron, and Haudenoseanee peoples.   Imagine a walk in the woods with a close friend, a stroll along the beach of a much-loved lake, or hiking a favourite mountain trail in the early morning. Hear the birdsong or lapping waves; smell the soft and cool hummus of the earth or the thick scent of lilacs blooming in early spring; feel the wind tussling your shirt and hair as it does the leaves of the trees. These are moments we treasure as we continue on in the COVID-19 reality Canada entered at the tail end of winter. A lot has been written about COVID-19 and no doubt more will be written over the coming months and years. When we began discussing the editorial, our attention immediately swayed toward the novel coronavirus and its effects on our lives, the “new normal”.   [  >>>>>  FORWARD ]   + [Distillate © HA&L + Alec Follett I Matthew Zantingh {from the Greek bios} -- the course of a life.]