The Mix

The title and theme of our next issue, THE MIX, refers to the double-sided nature of mental illness and mental health. Put together, it creates a complex, tangled and beautiful mixture of emotions, attitudes and experiences. To be more specific: there is no doubt that mental illness is painful, sometimes excruciatingly so, and at times cruelly limits its sufferers from attaining their hopes and dreams. At the same time, many psychiatric survivors have spoken about the newfound depth and awareness that their journeys have brought them, and their appreciation of every moment, and the new stories that they have experienced and learned to tell. Without romanticizing the burdens of illness, this issue of THE PERCH will attempt to get at the puzzle of it all: the highs and low, the joys and sorrows, and the brilliant things that can derive from the experience.

We seek poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction, artwork, visual art, and scholarly pieces that illustrate the profound melange of mental illness. We are most interested in personal stories. This is a peer-reviewed open call—all are welcome to submit for consideration. We anticipate an October 2027 launch event.