Letter from the Editor Spring 2020

Dear Reader,

As I finally present the Spring 2020 edition of The Anthem far later than I would have hoped, I am proud that it has finally arrived. While I am unable to start this letter with anything but an apology for the delay, I lament that I cannot begin with one of the tried and true openers from editors-in-chief past. I cannot open with “in your hands,” because, unfortunately, there is no physical magazine to be in said hands at the time of launch; nor can I reminisce on the end of my era of iron-fisted rule as editor-in-chief, because my transition away from this role has been less of a transfer of power and more of a drawn out process of tying loose ends. I suppose that I could start with some kind of vague acknowledgement about “everything going on,” or the “unprecedented times,” but I despise how that would reflect the jaundiced salutations I receive in emails. If I were more skilled of a writer, I would dazzle you with lucid narration of the magic of writing or the importance of the literary arts—rather, all I have to offer is my deepest thanks to the readers, contributors, and staff of The Anthem.

This semester presented some unique challenges to close my tenure as editor-in-chief, and through my perpetual confusion and the myriad of administrative challenges, the submitters and staff demonstrated an exceptional level of patience, poise, and aplomb that allowed us to finally present this very special (and perhaps the longest to date) edition of The Anthem. I had hoped, when this semester had started, to increase the on-campus profile of the magazine through new ventures, chalkboards, and displays to help garner submissions. I was eventually unable to deliver on the bold plans of my six-months-ago youth, but I am happy to have been able to give a platform to literary and visual artists on campus and share their works with each other despite being unable to actually hold a tangible culmination of their works.

Within this digital form is an amalgamation of disparate artworks from across different walks of campus life. Although it is impossible to flip through an upload of this digital PDF file and peruse through each work, I ask that you, the reader, takes the time to look at every work in this last-season magazine and appreciate this celebration of Georgetown’s literary and visual artists.

As I prepare to fully hand this magazine off to the next team, I feel an immense sense of pride with what I and my staff were able to accomplish this semester; and I cannot help but feel immense excitement that they will be able to an even better job than I ever could for this deeply special magazine.

With all the best,
Zane Ahmad Chowdhry
Editor-in-Chief

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