Letter from the Editors
What do you think of when you hear the phrase, “We need to talk”? For Zadie Smith, it’s marital arguments. For Arundhati Roy, it’s a call to action—a need for communication in a world in which conversation has ceased. For us, “We need to talk” inspired a sense of urgency. What should we be talking about right now? Who should speak, and when? What goes unspoken in our society that needs to be said out loud and expressed?
For the 2021-2022 editions of Kiln and VIA we wanted to use the space we were given to reflect, but it’s more than reflection—it's conversation, dialogue, and exploration. This year has been historic in a multitude of ways, and we need to take the time to express ourselves and put in the work to make things better. But in order to move forward, we must first know where we stand. To this end, these publications are more than statements, more than conversation; they are hope, fear, laughter, tears, and galvanization. These issues are explored in both the creative and academic work through feminist readings of cultural texts, issues of agency and individualism, the emotional labor of living in the world we do, physical pain, and dreams of a better future.
This year, we had six editors work with us to polish submission pieces and sort through them, and they put in their best effort despite the time crunch and chaos of the spring semester. We would like to thank: Olivia Grisch, Meredith Lyons, Maeve Wilbourn, Grant Bellchamber, Abigail Liszewski, and Mila Raque.
We would also like to thank Dr. Lynch and Dr. Johnston for their help in ensuring the smooth running of the magazine, as well as the English Department that gave us this opportunity. And thank you to Ted Ibur, director of St. Louis Literary Award Programming for his help in organizing the author interviews.
This academic year has been hard, and at times much darker than usual. Despite these struggles, we hope that being able to say "We need to talk" sparks conversation with others, and more importantly, connection.
Thank you for taking the time to look at the Spring 2022 issue of VIA (and don’t forget to check out the 2022 issue of Kiln)!
Alyssa Cook, Amanda Vannierop, & Grace Wang
Editors-in-Chief
What do you think of when you hear the phrase, “We need to talk”? For Zadie Smith, it’s marital arguments. For Arundhati Roy, it’s a call to action—a need for communication in a world in which conversation has ceased. For us, “We need to talk” inspired a sense of urgency. What should we be talking about right now? Who should speak, and when? What goes unspoken in our society that needs to be said out loud and expressed?
For the 2021-2022 editions of Kiln and VIA we wanted to use the space we were given to reflect, but it’s more than reflection—it's conversation, dialogue, and exploration. This year has been historic in a multitude of ways, and we need to take the time to express ourselves and put in the work to make things better. But in order to move forward, we must first know where we stand. To this end, these publications are more than statements, more than conversation; they are hope, fear, laughter, tears, and galvanization. These issues are explored in both the creative and academic work through feminist readings of cultural texts, issues of agency and individualism, the emotional labor of living in the world we do, physical pain, and dreams of a better future.
This year, we had six editors work with us to polish submission pieces and sort through them, and they put in their best effort despite the time crunch and chaos of the spring semester. We would like to thank: Olivia Grisch, Meredith Lyons, Maeve Wilbourn, Grant Bellchamber, Abigail Liszewski, and Mila Raque.
We would also like to thank Dr. Lynch and Dr. Johnston for their help in ensuring the smooth running of the magazine, as well as the English Department that gave us this opportunity. And thank you to Ted Ibur, director of St. Louis Literary Award Programming for his help in organizing the author interviews.
This academic year has been hard, and at times much darker than usual. Despite these struggles, we hope that being able to say "We need to talk" sparks conversation with others, and more importantly, connection.
Thank you for taking the time to look at the Spring 2022 issue of VIA (and don’t forget to check out the 2022 issue of Kiln)!
Alyssa Cook, Amanda Vannierop, & Grace Wang
Editors-in-Chief