Butterfly Raw Shock  Light Jet Print 2004-05 by Ilene Segalove

Briefly, about our title: Facets alludes to the process of making art compared to the formation of a jewel. To create a jewel, the earth is mined for raw stones, which are then washed, cut, and polished until the previously hidden, inherent brilliance of the stone itself shines through. Likewise, in a story, poem, or memoir, we mine the earth of our experience, then clean, shape, and polish it. This is what we can find in literature perhaps more than anywhere else: an ability to perceive ourselves, to plumb interior depths, and to appreciate myriad colorations in the facets of our human experience.