The pandemic has made it dangerous to touch. 

In a world where touch is a natural and necessary aspect of human connection, the effects of COVID-19 go far beyond the physical illness itself. We touch to transmit emotion, extend friendship, build trust, ease fear, offer hope. Those who thrive on tactile contact have been in withdrawal, while others have fully embraced isolation. And we can’t turn a blind eye to the ways that touch can harm – as evidenced by the increased incidence of domestic violence –

as well as the way that the lack of a loved one’s touch has increased the suffering of dying patients.  

With this call, we are inviting your submissions for the Spring 2021 issue of Pendemics, the arts and literary e-journal of the Global Quarantine Museum. We’re seeking creative expressions and unique perspectives in

written and visual art forms. It is our intention to explore the subject of touch in its present-day COVID-19 context as well as the uses and meaning of touch in cultural and historical contexts.

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This is a call for the visceral and the spiritual, the fantastic and the literal, and everything in between. Send us your best work – in poetry, essays and short fiction, and in the visual arts – your paintings, photographs, drawings, sculpture, and mixed media. Previously published work will be considered.

How to Submit: Send your written submissions pasted into the body of an email addressed to pendemicsjournal@gmail.com. Visual art submissions should be sent as a jpeg attachment to the same email address.  Please use subject line: Pendemics Touch Issue.