Letter from the Editor Fall 2019

Dear Reader,

What you have just opened is the most recent iteration of a magazine brought to life by the contributions of Georgetown’s literary arts community, compiled and edited by the tireless efforts of our staff. This issue represents continuity of a century old tradition of literary arts at Georgetown yet also the perpetual metamorphosis that took the old Georgetown Journal to The Anthem. Often, I wonder what the first edition of The Georgetown Journal was like, what motivated our staff to take The Anthem from an annual publication to a biannual one. These answers are irrelevant— what matters is that these choices have altered the composition of The Anthem resulting in the truly special publication before you. As one of the most under-qualified editors-in-chief in recent memory I feared that I would interrupt the chain of literary mastery passed down from my predecessors. I am proud, however, to present one of the longest issues to date thanks to its contributors.

What has amazed me throughout my tenure as a staff member each semester is the wide breadth of experiences that our students, staff, and faculty have to share. The Anthem takes shape every semester through human connections between the subject and reader— the awe that accompanies reading a perfectly metered sonnet; the laughter evoked by the romanticisms of a trucker; a tender moment shared over crickets. This human connection is the foundation of what distinguishes art between vulgar prose, what speaks to our heart over our senses. The magazine before you is an anthology of experiences, lived and fictitious, colored by our writers, our photographers, and our artists. With sincerity, I want to thank each artist for your hard work. I must also extend my gratitude to our bold staff for managing all the ends of publication and always being ready to make witty comments.

I am excited for you to read this magazine. I hope you experience the same wonder reading The Anthem that we experienced reading it in our office.

Sincerely,
Zane Ahmad Chowdhry
Editor-in-Chief

Sad Boy Eats Pocky (Alone)