Litmag’s mission is to nurture the creativity of the students, staff, and alumni of UMSL by providing a space to showcase the diverse literary and artistic talent of our campus. We aim to provide an i..
more »Litmag’s mission is to nurture the creativity of the students, staff, and alumni of UMSL by providing a space to showcase the diverse literary and artistic talent of our campus. We aim to provide an inclusive professional and high-quality publication free of charge to UMSL and the local community.
The University of Missouri-St. Louis Department of English proudly presents LITMAG the thirty-fifth edition this Spring 2023. First established in 1983.
Dear Reader, Welcome to the 2022-23 edition of Litmag. I am so excited for you to dive into the work submitted by our 47 talented contributors. Some have already shown their work to the world before, while others are publishing for the first time—either way, I congratulate all of them for their incredible pieces. I also must praise the hard work of all the editors and art students alike who put their heart and soul into assembling Litmag this year. Witnessing their passion for this project has truly been one of the greatest pleasures of my adult life.
Last year’s editors of Litmag aimed to embrace the middle ground between “pandemic times” and “back to normal.” Th is year, our editors collectively acknowledged that things may never fully be “back to normal,” but we agreed that our readers deserve a little peace—something to enjoy even when times are uncertain. For many of us, literature continues to be an escape from the harsh realities of the world around us, giving us hope, relief, and the belief that everything’s going to be okay.
The stories that were shared with us this year made us laugh, think, and connect with one another. We read our favorites over and over. We took notes and sent texts about the lines we loved. We debated over the meaning of metaphors. But most of all we reveled in the comfort of escaping into someone else’s perspective.
We tried to recreate that feeling in this edition. Whether you’re a lover of science fi ction, romance, thrillers, political satire, humor, even prose about winning the lottery (a niche genre, but one nonetheless), there’s something in this book for you. And we encourage you, reader, to make this edition of Litmag your own.
So, get comfortable and dive in: read, take notes, doodle, highlight, write your own poetry in the margins, loan it to a friend, crease its corners, fl ag your favorites, or tape them up to your wall — make this book your escape for a while, and love it to death. It’ll love you right back.
You are the light.
Please take the time to read this in a way that makes you glow.
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