As the year rolls to an end, we couldn’t be more thrilled to have had such a great term for The Garden Statuary. Again and again we were delighted, awed and challenged by our peers’ submissions. We received a total of 120 submissions for this edition, including 50 academic, 44 poetic, 15 prose, and many more beautiful pieces. It’s safe to say that selecting our final pieces proved to be as difficult as ever! We thank everyone who submitted their work, and extend congratulations to all our contributors who have been published! Below you’ll find a little more about each of our lovely contributors, as well as a little gushing from us about what we loved most about their piece.
Sheena Jiang is a third year Honours Cellular Anatomical and Physiological Sciences student. She also works as a research student examining the role of monocytes (her favourite cells!) in sepsis. Her favourite book is The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.
Her pieces on executive (dys)function excellently describes executive dysfunction. Her piece on change and dimethylsulfoxide uniquely applies scientific metaphor to dissect grief and the concept of change.
Gurleen K. Kulaar is a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in English Literature and minoring in Creative Writing. Gurleen previously worked as an editor for the journal and is excited to be working again as an author. In her spare time, you can find her watching stressful movies, munching on homegrown, funky looking carrots, and reading books that leave her feeling distraught for at least three months.
Her piece When Snow Falls into the Caribbean Sea: The Intertwinement of Colonial and Personal Histories in Jamaica Kincaid’s Garden. is a gorgeous essay with a thoughtful analysis of the concept of gardens as colonial spaces.
Millicent Sharman is a second-year honours biochemistry student with a love for literature. An admirer of the ruminant and dreamy, she draws inspiration from Neruda and Eliot, among others. When not writing lab reports and poems, she can be found perusing Letterboxd, stage managing, and stopping by the symphony.
Her piece anchor is an excellent articulation of specific moments throughout childhood and adolescence, as well as sensory experiences.
M. Chiao is a fourth year English Literature student who is passionate about comics studies, graphic forms, and Asian diasporic studies. When not writing, they enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons, playing sandbox video games, and scrapbook journaling. In the future, they plan to adopt a cat by all means necessary.
Their pieces Kapok Vocal Cords: Y-Dang Troeung’s Landbridge as Cambodian Memory Work comprehensively contextualizes Landbridge within its literary tradition. Their piece Second Street to the Right has an intriguing premise and cast, with a chilling moments.
Grace Ko (She/Her) is a third-year undergrad studying English and Data Science. Despite her intense personality, Grace finds comfort in strolling around the beach in winter, collecting cute stickers, and wearing soft cardigans.
Her piece Filter— revisited immediately evokes discomfort, with a beautiful yet unsettling contrast between the human body and the beauty we strive to achieve.
Jeff Oro is a third-year undergrad majoring in English language and lit., and minoring in creative writing. While at Capilano U, he worked with the editing team of the school’s literary zine, The Liar, through which he published his first poem “canned pasta” in its 2024 edition. When he isn’t writing poetry, you can find him listening to Taylor Swift, coaching his youth dragon boating team, or world building for his latest project.
His piece it was the cold features a the unique meandering form and excellent descriptions of sensations such as defrosting, melting, and the effect of love on the body).
Beckett Stanger is a second-year student studying English Literature and Classics. He is passionate about languages and literatures from around the world, with a particular interest in 20th and 21st century American literature. When he’s not studying late into the night for Ancient Greek, you can find him killing it in mosh pits at punk shows around Vancouver, or perhaps even on stage sometimes.
His piece Karen Magnussen, 1 Week Later circles an un-enunciated, traumatic end to a relationship, focusing on the specific sensory experience of trying to sustain ordinary life in the aftermath.
Sophia Bucior is a 5th year Medieval Studies student at UBC, focusing on female voices within late Medieval courtly literature. Outside of school, she enjoys cozying up with a good book (Medieval or non-Medieval), cheering for the Vancouver Canucks, and exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Her piece On Cundrie and Christine de Pizan: Proclamations of the Wild Feminine, and a Call Towards “Advocating Pure Truth” is a compelling and engaging deep dive into authors both contemporary and medieval.
Stella Xia is a second-year Cognitive Systems major on a mission to think fewer thoughts. You can find all her failed attempts to do so at graduatedlicensing.substack.com
Her piece because your grandfather is dying is refreshing, bold, and unfiltered, drawing on realistic, relatable experiences while intermixing intrusive thoughts and speculations about the world.
Andrea Sebastian is a second-year undergraduate in Asian Area Studies invested in analyzing Japan, be it through history, language, literature, or occasionally geology. You can usually find her wrapped in a warm blanket or café ambience, playing with short stories and creative essays. Otherwise, she is reading (old and new works, but especially young or foreign authors! any Harriet Armstrong fans?), on a plane, re-sewing clothes, or failing blissfully at tango for “research”
Her piece For Your Safety has a charming and unique format with a very interesting concept that juxtaposes a flight manual with a failed relationship.
Louise Cham is a fourth year English Literature student with a minor in Geographic Information Science. She thrives on poetry writing, trivia games, sunset running, and tiramisu.
Her piece Metaphor as Medicine: The Power of Figurative Language to Aid Survival and Healing in Madeleine Thien’s Dogs at the Perimeter is a nuanced analysis of identity, a lovely piece on grief, stories, and perseverance through the horrors of genocide.
Olivia McNeill is a 5th year Interdisciplinary scholar with a focus on bio-politics and accessible science communication and practice. Theoretically, her interests tend towards the quantum, the abject, and the in-betweens. In real life, she is a professional athlete, amateur artist, and moss enthusiast. When she isn’t busy over-contemplating, she can often be found exploring nature, picking up new hobbies, and looking at cool rocks.
Her piece An Age of Consent: Wor(l)ds to/for This Strange Body is very poignant, very powerful, and very raw, with great discussion about queerness, disability, and identity politics.