Welcome to the Winter 2020 issue of Helicon Literary and Arts Magazine! The first issue of Helicon appeared in 1980 as a Journal of the Humanities, an idea made real by founding editors Lisa Getter, Christina Calvit, and Michael Steele. Though after 40 years the magazine has changed alongside the times, Helicon remains committed as ever to championing student voices and creative expression.
We are particularly excited to present the pieces in this issue. During our review process, we found these pieces to be challenging, thought-provoking, endearing, and downright beautiful. As you move through the issue, you’ll find that these pieces are formally and thematically diverse. They explore a variety of topics, employ multiple linguistic registers, and experiment with a range of aesthetics. This fact is especially encouraging since we know that creative expression takes shape within the context of identity, language, place, and culture. We are proud to showcase so many talented creators and hope to demonstrate our commitment to expanding who and what gets to be considered literary and artistic.
We’d also like to recognize that although for many art and writing are a labor of love, it is a labor nonetheless. In that case, we’d like to express our many thanks. Thank you to our contributors for sharing your work so generously with us. Thank you to our staff for reviewing each piece with such care and critical attention. And thank you to our readers for taking time to appreciate the talent and work it takes to create meaning from mere sounds and images.
The nature of an online issue is that it is available at your disposal anywhere there’s wi-fi. We hope you revisit the pieces in this issue as much as you’d like. Bookmark your favorites. Come back to the pieces that move you. Return to the ones you can’t quite seem to figure out. And please make use of the social media buttons at the bottom of each page. The people in your world could always use more sources of inspiration, reflection, and joy.
Finally, special thanks is owed to the Office of Residential Academic Initiatives, whose continued support keeps Helicon going. Thank you to Director of Residential Academic Initiatives Bradley Zakarin, Associate Director Nancy Anderson, and Program Assistant Mary Dworak. Thank you also to Chapin’s Faculty Chair Tom Burke. Since Helicon’s beginning, we’ve enjoyed a close relationship with Chapin, and many of our contributors and staff members have come from the residential college. Finally, thank you to Elzbieta Foeller-Pituch, our incredible Faculty Advisor. This issue wouldn’t be possible without you.
Erika Barrios, editor-in-chief
The works published herein are the sole property of the writers and artists who created them. No work may be used without the explicit permission of the author or artist.
