Dear reader,
As we embark on our journeys through the new year (according to both relevant celestial bodies), and through college, it's time for the first issue of the Grail Volume XIX, with our theme of bildungsroman! Whether it be a more traditional coming-of-age, coming into a new place, or moving on to a different life stage, we’ve widened the definition of this literary term to mean many things to many different people, seen in this illuminating issue.
Journey throughout our prose pieces, including Jake Alwitt’s “Little Green Creatures” (4) and Elsie Wing’s “The Revelers” (1). Or if you prefer to come of age with poetry, check out Peach Reeder’s “Dear Myself, Myself” (3) or Anthony Valdespino’s “So much to ask” (9). We even have visual art in this issue—see Emma Fan’s “See Through: a self portrait” on the front cover.
After growing up in this issue, go wild with our next issue’s theme of chaos! It’s as open as it sounds, so have fun letting your words run rampant across the page. No rules, no masters! Watch out for us on SB Info or head to our website at reedthegrail.org for a link to submit your work (deadline is March 1st—a sort of pregame to April Fools’, if you will), and to see other bildungsroman pieces that we didn’t get to publish in print! Until then, sow discord and don’t forget to do some homework.
XOXO,
Caroline “Care” T. Paden,
Adrian Keller Feld,
Robert Bourbon,
Inez Gallant,
Maxine Emilia Bresnan
and Declan Bradley
