Where the spectre in full daylight accosts the passer-by.”
—From Baudelaire’s poem “Les Sept Vieillards” (The Seven Old Men), alluded to in T.S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland” as the “Literary Section.”
Each reader about to be accosted by these worded specters: before you now the city shall unfold…and here is the reason you should read on:
This section, this “city full of dreams” comes from the minds of students on this campus. The words here printed are the words of your peers, students, and friends, most of which may have never planned on sharing such images with others. Or if they did share, were limited in audience to their closest peers. Surprising? A myriad of courses and extracurricular programs are offered every year to encourage personal growth on this campus: athletes band together in various activities, biology majors thrive in the new science building, music students find a family in the conservatory; unfortunately, creative writing has been passed over as a solitary activity. In fact, there is only one opportunity each year for student writers and “closet poets” to come together and express their talents: Tropos, the constricted University publication. The limited resources for practice in publication should be alarming on such a liberal campus, especially for those students who actually wish to make live as writers after graduation.
It is time for a change—I desired to catch the attention of the student body with a new opportunity for student writers to share their voices, and with this edition of the Literary Section, that opportunity is established. I would like to thank those students who saw their chance and sent in their work, and I sincerely hope that we will present those students’ words in exactly the way they would like them to be printed. Whatever your reasons for writing, whatever the subject matter, I believe that fellow students, faculty, and community members would like to expand their minds with the consideration of your unique perspective.
I hope readers appreciate and enjoy the Literary Section, as a good deal of work has gone into its creation. I also strongly encourage everyone to submit their writing to be published here on a consistent basis: poetry, short stories, journal entries, comic strips, however you express meaning through words. I earnestly look forward to the expansion of this section to recognize the thoughts and views of as many students on campus as possible.
As a last note: we are not professionals…thank you for your kind reading.
—Rebecca Vande Hei
Section Coordinator