Thresholds

New moon on May 7, 2024

Today begins the Planting Moon. In much of the northern hemisphere, spring is in full swing. This month, the theme is thresholds: boundaries between this and that. In storytelling, the threshold between the ordinary world and the extraordinary marks a critical point. Main characters cross and the then and often return over the threshold during their story. The effect that these moments have on plot and mood and theme are some of the most gripping parts of a story for audiences. So examples of it in narrative arts are absolutely everywhere.

In the visual arts, thresholds, and the liminal places that they bound, burst with possibilities too. This poster from 1982 is perfect. Looking back 2,500 years we identify another excellent example in a black figure krater depicting Odysseus escaping death to return over a threshold that is guarded by the blinded Polyphemos.

Images like this intrigue and provoke interest. They represent key moments in a story that, when done well, provoke wonder.

These moments themselves propel action and help develop the story. They work at the microcosm as well as at the macrocosm. That krater depicts a small moment in Odysseus’s journey that reflects the larger narrative in which the poet describes how the trickster, after a decade at war, returns home and what he finds there.

So as we created these prompt, we asked ourselves a lot of questions. Who crosses and what are they after? What lies on either side of the threshold? Is the threshold itself narrow, like the Delaware River or the Hellespont, or is it as wide as the Pacific? Is it merely symbolic?

Wherever your medium of choice takes you, we hope this month’s prompts inspire you in your work!