To everyone who made our 13.1 winter issue of The Garden Statuary possible: we thank you from the bottom of our hearts and we want to congratulate again all our contributors for their amazing work this term! With 28 prose, 39 academic essays, 48 poetry, and 4 multimedia submissions, it was a definite challenge selecting our final pieces. You bet our exec team stayed up ’til midnight watching those last minute pieces roll in! Below you’ll find a little more about each of our lovely contributors, as well as some notes on what we thought really stood out from each of their pieces:
Avery Man is a fourth-year Honours English Language & Literature student, with a minor in Ancient Mediterranean & Near Eastern Studies. Passionate about media studies, queer theory, sociolinguistics, and postcolonial feminism, Avery enjoys dilly-dallying during the day and envisioning a world of radical intimacy at night.
Avery’s academic essay “Asia Ex Machina” is well-researched and incredibly engaging—don’t the words ‘techno-Orientalism’ make you want to learn more? With references to Blade Runner, Overwatch, and Neuromancer, this essay pulls no punches in interrogating and looking to move beyond the idea of an “Asian cyborg Other.”
Anna Pontin is in her third year of Honours English with a minor in Philosophy. She is a big fan of trees.
It’s no easy task to write something fresh and interesting about a writer as studied and celebrated as Virginia Woolf, but Anna’s academic essay ““I” to Eye: Inclined Subjectivity and Feminine Vision in Woolf’s To the Lighthouse” engages with the text incredibly thoughtfully, exploring the idea of the feminine Vision in Woolf’s work and the meaning of that mysterious “I”.
Emily Mao is in her last year double-majoring in English literature and Psychology. In her free time, she likes to go for long walks in parks, drink an obscene amount of coffee, and lose herself in Russian literature.
Her academic essay “Rejecting rotting humanness: The ecofeminist abject in Han Kang’s The Vegetarian” unflinchingly converses with The Vegetarian in all its bloody glory. Emily brings a fascinating ecofeminist lens to the novel, one which underscores the threat to the patriarchy that the protagonist’s unconventional journey presents.
Corrina Wang is a fourth year English major. She is new to writing poetry, and she is currently in the chaos of trying to adapt and learn more techniques to perfect this skill.
Her poem “The Trees on my Father’s Hands” caught our eye with its extended metaphors, naturalistic imagery, and use of anaphora. There’s something strikingly simple and poignant about its meditation on that most complex relationship between father and child: “strict / and somewhere condescending,” to be sure, but then, “Looking back, it was funny.”
Lorelei McEwen (they/she) is a third year Honours student in psychology at UBC. Alongside research and academic studies, Lorelei has a passion for advocating for accessible learning at UBC. In their spare time (a rare occurrence), Lorelei enjoys candle-making, midnight dance sessions in their bedroom, and playing Taylor Swift covers on their guitar.
It’s a rare feat that an author gets published twice in the same issue, but Lorelei’s works this term are outstanding! Their poetry “This is not an apology it is a confession” captures the attention right from its strong opening line, and weaves its imagery with some gorgeous consonance: “You were a sun-born. Summer-grown. Half-witted hairpins and barrettes, tangled in shifty skirts.” The open ending feels so universal in the tender ache it conjures.
Their prose work, “The Fool“, has rich and natural language from start to finish. Each moment in this story feels intentional and purposeful, and the introspective character work makes for a satisfying, realistic read.
Spencer Lee is in his fifth year of studying English Literature at UBC. His favourite book is Anna Karenina. In his spare time, he enjoys art, nature, and watching films.
Spencer’s poem “Bad Gateway” is a wonderful balance between description and banter, and maintains a playful atmosphere despite the heavy topic. We thought that the richness of the discussion between the childhood friends was absolutely lovely.
Vidushy Avasthi is a fifth-year undergraduate student majoring in Media Studies and minoring in Creative Writing. In her spare time, she enjoys learning languages, reading, writing poetry, and playing video games. She also likes listening to Taylor Swift, eavesdropping on people speaking foreign languages, being surrounded by tall trees and the ocean (when it’s not freezing), and trying out new recipes.
Her poetry “weaving” is a poem about loss and missing loved ones, told entirely through its extended metaphor. It invokes a sense of nostalgia with its tender imagery and careful use of poetic devices and word choice. We hope you enjoy its subtle but rich language.
Amaruuk Bose is in her final year of the BFA in Creative Writing. When she’s not drinking coffee and explaining elaborate fan theories to her mother, she can be found in the nearest bookstore daydreaming about Lord Byron.
Her story “Belladonna” instantly captured our attention with its strong opening lines. With its well-developed relationships and poignant moments of humour, it reads like a gripping crime novel—right up until the breath-holding final words.