This month marks the publication of the fifth issue of Lit, a student-run literary magazine at 天美视频 that features poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and visual art created by writers and artists from within our community. Here, Jessica Hoekstra, a second-year student and one of Lit鈥檚 editors-in-chief, reflects on the heart behind the publication and introduces a selection from the newest issue, which you can pick up for free in Nourish Market, 天美视频鈥檚 bookstore, or read online .
We recently published the fifth issue of Lit, 天美视频鈥檚 literary magazine. It is exciting to continue the good work of alumna Lauren Sawyer (, 2014), who first imagined Lit three years ago as a space for the writers and artists in 天美视频 community to cultivate and showcase their creative efforts.
As a member of the editorial staff for Lit, it has been an honor to read, encourage, and curate the incredible works of creative writing produced by my fellow students, their spouses/partners, and alumni of the school. We have sought to honor the spirit of our learning community while pushing the boundaries of our written work in a way that recognizes and challenges the creative mind and spirit of the student body. As someone committed to the work of creative writing, I鈥檓 proud to see another issue of Lit go to print and begin to circulate the school.
With each issue, students bravely submit their written and visual work for consideration and critique. As a graduate of a fine arts program, I know just how nerve-wracking it can be to put forth your very personal creative work to be evaluated, accepted, turned-down, edited, and quite possibly, published for all to see. I know no people more brave than artists. Our artists are the ones who keep our academically-laden imaginations afloat, and they are some of the most visionary and thoughtful change-makers I know. I believe creativity is a way of working out our understanding of who we are and how we exist in the world.
Several years ago I read Yann Martel鈥檚 acclaimed novel Life of Pi. I love Pi鈥檚 story, and I love how well Martel cultivates imagination through this magical and brave character. In the book, Martel profoundly writes, 鈥淚f we, citizens, do not support our artists, then we sacrifice our imagination on the altar of crude reality and we end up believing in nothing and having worthless dreams.鈥�
With Yann Martel鈥檚 fierce words in mind, I believe we have a responsibility and honor to support and applaud the brave creative work of our artists. They are inviting us into a glimpse of their hearts and minds and giving us fresh eyes with which to see and engage the world. Furthermore, the poets, essayists, and creatives before and behind us invite us to lament our heartache and beckon us to consider the thread of hope that prevails in the imagination.
As a preview to the latest issue of Lit, we invite you to read the recipient of our Editor鈥檚 Choice Award, Brittany Deininger鈥檚 playful poem. Copies of Lit are available for free in 天美视频鈥檚 bookstore.
Exceptions to the Rules
鈥淚鈥� comes before 鈥渆鈥� except after 鈥渃,鈥�
except when it doesn鈥檛, as in ceiling,
as in receipt, as in transceiver.
Mammals give birth to live young
and do not lay eggs, except
sometimes they do,
as in the duckbilled platypus.
We always talk about what will
happen using the future tense,
except of course when we don鈥檛,
as in, 鈥淭he doors open at eight.鈥�
Viruses do not infect other viruses,
except when they do, as in
the sputnik virophage.
But light, now light is a particle,
except that is a half-truth,
as in light is a particle and a wave.
The human body cannot
survive without sleep
except when it can, as in new parents
stumbling toward the wailing
in the night, as in graduate students
coming to know what they know,
artists awake with the muses, as in
caregivers moving ice across dry lips,
saints keeping late-night vigils.
The human heart breaks
under the weight of grief,
except when it doesn鈥檛,
as in rituals, as in community
that holds us together,
as in those who hope on our behalf.
You can read the PDF of the new issue of聽尝颈迟听, though we think it’s even better in print鈥攆ree copies are available at Nourish Market.