Editor’s letter
Welcome to autumn’s Hopezine, an ode to
the animals we take care of.
In this special issue, award-winning authors
from my publishers Victorina Press, pen
their own vignettes about the pets they
love. I’ve taken to bird twitching. And a
Professor of Psychology tells us all about
the benefits of taking care of a pet, for
better mental health.
The cover art and subsequent cat images
in this issue come courtesy of Outsider
Art dealer Henry Boxer. He kindly
donated some images from his collection
of Louis Wain cat illustrations. You may
have seen the Louis Wain film on Prime
in 2021 – Wain was a painter of cats
and is credited with popularising cats as
pets, rather than pests, in the nineteenth
century. He also happened to live with
schizophrenia later in his life. Indeed, our
cover this month is sometimes known as
the ‘Mona Lisa of Asylum Art’.
With all these furry and tiny creatures
crawling the pages, I urge you to snuggle
up to an animal or give an insect a drink
this season.
Erica x
With special thanks to Laura Edwards, Matt Timmins and our sponsors at wearefintel.com
