Yugen

Editor's Note

Vertigo Editors (2022-23)

Yugen (n.) – “a profound, mysterious sense of the beauty of the universe… and the sad beauty of human suffering”.

Amid days blanketed in darkness, we at Vertigo gathered around a partagé of the creativity dearest to us on a night illuminated by string lights. As the landscape greened and flourished after heavy rain, we also grew, expanding our skills and voices with our second annual Open Mic. Writers and artists alike shared their expression with one another through poetry, screenwriting, animations, paintings, and more.

Dear reader, we are exceptionally proud to present our 2023 Spring Issue. As you flip through these vibrant pages, we invite you to join our journey in exploring and embracing yugen: the profound, mysterious beauty of the universe.

We’ve found yugen in fiery palaces and street vendor stands, through the nostalgia of flower crowns and homemade soup. We’ve contemplated the meaning of omniscience under mountain laurel and reveled in how rain kisses foreheads.

With this, we ask our dear readers one final question. How will you capture the yugen within us all?