About Issue 1.2
. It’s been another great term for The Garden Statuary and again we were delighted, awed and challenged by our peers’ submissions. From the 55 poems, 23 prose, 48 multimedia and 29 academic pieces we received, it was no easy feat to choose the final selections that you see here.
. In this issue, you will find three academic essays. Chelsea Pratt’s “What the Dead Know: Political and Personal Corpses in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four” exemplifies brilliant research, articulation and investigation into unexplored areas of the novel. Javier Ibáñez’s “The Book of Shells and Stones: A Reading of Wordsworth’s Dream of the Arab” immediately impressed us with its poetic, finely-detailed analysis and attentive close-reading. The unique approach of “The Geography of Pain” by Genevieve Barrons coheres an excellent combination of historical context, ethics and literary analysis.
. Our multimedia section includes work by Andrew Pollins, Farisia Thang, Kenneth Chong, Cyrus Sie, Dalaina Heiberg and Genya Cheung. In each case, we felt that these works demonstrated outstanding use of their mediums and presented provocative, original ideas. We are also very pleased to publish our first film of The Garden Statuary. We feel that Andrew Pollin’s “Vice and Virtue” is exactly the kind of thoughtful and skilled work that should be shared with our readers.
. Our poets this term are Alex Winstanley, Michael Prior, Katie Coopersmith and Stephanie Airth. Katie’s poem “Later Days” takes a vivid and tense narrative approach to communicating a difficult situation of love and loss. Stephanie’s “On Fishing” reveals the telling power of a single image to reveal a whole world of meaning. As before, Michael’s work continues to astound us; his poem “Complicity” is a beautifully crafted balance between abstraction and narration. Fittingly so for the topic of his poem, Alex’s “The Contours of Nature” makes innovative use of imagery and lush language to tell an old story in a fresh way.
. Our two fiction pieces are “Without Words” by Michael Warne and “The Idiot Imposter” by Luke Fraser. Told through a combination of gesture, symbols, broken notes and silent actions, “Without Words” brings the reader into considering words, wordlessness and the relationships which build and fall apart upon these shaky premises. Luke’s “The Idiot Imposter” takes an ambitious and humorous approach to a very unusual situation; beneath the madness and its methods are darker questions about mortality and the possibility of meaningful relationships with others in an absurdist world.
. Lastly, we are pleased to present our newest category, The Garden Statutory. This term, we received a few remarkable submissions that seemed particularly appropriate for an English or Arts student audience. In commenting, critiquing and celebrating the kinds of wonderful (and not so wonderful) practises of our discipline, these pieces definitely deserve a proud place in our journal. Madeline Gorman’s witty and insightful “Open Letter to Yogi Tea” is a characteristic example of English students speaking back to some very ill-constructed sentences (politely, of course). Kyle Robertson’s “Oh, the humanities” suggests some wry, perceptive and hilarious tips for academic conduct –every humanities student should take note!
. As for all the illustrations that you see in this issue, you can direct your admiration to The Garden Statuary’s Illustration and Design extraordinaire: Sara Shayan.
. Again, we cannot thank our contributors, peers and advising professors enough. The Garden Statuary has had a fantastic welcome this year and we’re already looking forward to next September. Congratulations to the class of 2012 and best of luck to everyone in their creative and academic pursuits.
-Laura Ritland
Editor in Chief