Issue 59

Setting out to produce this issue of Red Cedar Review, the longest-running undergraduate-managed literary magazine in the country, our team knew we wanted to represent the potential of what publishing can be, rather than abiding by the restrictions of what it has been. From day one, we knew that our issue would seek to do what we haven’t done before: expand our journal’s reach by opening up submissions to all, regardless of academic status. Where previously we limited ourselves to reading work from undergraduate students, in this issue we welcomed submissions from all who wish to be published. Before we began to read submissions, we sat with the understanding that the work we’d take on would matter. We aspire to grow as a publication in tandem with our readership.

The publication before you is a culmination of research, care, and a desire to stay true to our values. We knew that our unique position as a university-funded journal allowed us to choose pieces that exist for the sake of telling a story and not for the sake of appealing to a source of funding. Our opportunity to publish genuine stories from emerging writers is one we hold dear, and we hope that the work we’ve done in this issue encourages that sentiment in future publications.

As widespread as public conversations about increasing diversity in publishing have become, broad threats of censorship hover in the periphery. As the personal and political remain inextricably entwined, the role of art to bridge the two together holds lasting importance. Discussing selections brought up conversations about grappling with the anxieties and comforts of living and the small and large moments that seem to dictate our lives. No two pieces of writing here are alike, but all pieces explore the limits of what it means to search for purpose in a time where our paths feel decided by forces both external and uncontrollable.

As the issue began to take form, our team’s excitement only grew. Work for this issue extended beyond what you see before you, and we wish to acknowledge our combined effort for not only the production but also in maintaining the reach of Red Cedar Review through the forms of blog posts, social media, and more. All of this, however, would be nothing without the actual work of all who seeked to call this journal a venue for their art. As a group of creatives, we send a sincere thank you to all those who shared with us. A final special thanks goes to both the Department of English and to our Professors, Dr. Kate Birdsall and Matthew Rossi, whose guidance and support was integral every step of the way.