transformation & rebirth
The nymphalis antiopia is a butterfly that is variously known as the mourning cloak and the grand surprise. The dark wings are accented by a bright fringe, causing the entomologist L. Hugh Newman to exclaim that it was as if a girl, disliking to be in mourning, allowed a bit of her bright dress to show below her mourning dress.
The Mourning Cloak is about that defiant expression of joy in the midst of the great lamentations of our time. Not that grief and sadness will not be present in these pages. They might even dominate. The name Antiope literally seems to mean ‘against the voice,’ and so we find ourselves out of tune with the dominant strain. A bellicose, intransigent happiness that emerges at the fringes, and only at the fringes.
The Mourning Cloak is a journal of culture and ideas. More importantly, though, it’s a journal of questions, and inhabiting an uneasy, fragile happiness.
The Mourning Cloak publishes critical reviews of academic and popular works, as well as original essays in a wide range of fields including poetry, philosophy, theology, history, music, and fiction.
The Mourning Cloak is curated by the Rev. Joshua Gerhard Paetkau, M.Div, Rector of the Parishes of New Carlisle and Chaleur Bay in the Anglican Diocese of Quebec. The Mourning Cloak is intended to be a space of respectful learning and collaboration. Racism, misogyny, and other forms of hate speech will not be tolerated. Those wishing to share content from this site are welcome to do so; we ask that credit be given for the source material. We ask also that material be shared in the spirit of respect and kindness.
Anyone wishing to submit essays or for publication to The Mourning Cloak should address their queries to mourningcloakpublications@proton.me
The Mourning Cloak 