Spring 2020

Letter from the Editor

Dear Readers,

Ordinarily, I would be thanking you for picking up an issue of Inklings. However, the world as we know it was turned upside down and due to the global pandemic, we were left to make hard and sometimes emotional decisions. One of those was to not have a print edition of Inklings this year.

Being an undergraduate student myself, I have personally seen the impact of COVID-19 on my school and my peers. I have been struggling mentally with adjusting to this new reality, but I can only imagine what it is like for students who have been displaced from their safe spaces on campus into what may be uncertain and unpredictable circumstances. My thoughts are with these students who are vulnerable and struggling.

On top of everyone being thrown into the turbulence that is a global pandemic, it has also been a time of unjustified violence. It would not feel right to publish an issue of Inklings and not address the unjust murders of not only George Floyd, but Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others. The oppression of the Black community is a systematic issue within all aspects of our society. This includes the literary and publishing sphere as well. It is the responsibility of publications like ours to uplift Black voices and creators. Your voice matters. Your life matters. Black lives matter.

We will not be publishing another issue until the next academic year, but in the meantime, we will think of the best ways we can support marginalized voices through action. We hope that you will be willing to support other organizations who focus on supporting Black voices including The Watering Hole, Cave Canem, Kimbilio, and The Hurston/Wright Foundation.

Now more than ever, I am inspired by the work we are featuring this year. Despite all odds, they wrote. They revised. They submitted.

Inkings has been a huge part of my life. The community I found through this magazine helped foster me not only as a writer, but as a leader. However, I didn’t do it alone. I want to thank my Managing Editor, Erin Zak, who helped me think through many of the hard decisions we had to make this year. I can graduate knowing that Inklings is in the best hands possible. Additionally, this digital issue would not be possible without our Design Editor, Kelsey-Fiander-Carr, who also managed to redesign our site this year. It would also not be possible without Megan Mahoney and Gabby Pardocchi, who not only took on their regular roles, but also reading responsibilities to help us select the work you will read here.

I also want to say thank you to all those who supported Inklings this year either through support or through donations. I particularly want to thank all of those in Eastern’s English department, for supporting us and consistently enriching us with their wisdom as well as helping us to grow as people and as students. We accomplished so much this year despite everything, and I know Inklings will only continue to grow.

I believe writing is powerful and can be a place of solace and resistance during hard times. I hope you, dear readers, can start to believe that too as you browse the work we have published here. When these words come knocking on your door, let them in.

With love & care,

Nicole Markert