Letter from the Editor

Hey everyone! This is the Letter from the Editor that was published this year in the 19th edition Legends. I hope you check out this year's journal!

It is with great pride that we introduce to you Volume 19 of Northern Eclecta Art and Literary Journal. This year’s theme “Legends” was actually one of the quickest decisions that we came to throughout the semester. Surprisingly, this was even before we had an official advisor for the course Literary Publications. 

We didn’t have a specific designation for Editor-in-Chief this year since we had a few things working against us from the beginning. Sara and I (Caitlin) mostly assumed responsibility for the role while also taking over as the team leads for the editing and promotion teams. Some of the main issues we faced was the smaller class size, a last-minute advisor, and only two students who had previous experience with the course. However, the students taking the class rose above these challenges and worked extremely hard to get the 19th edition of Northern Eclecta completed. Everyone was enthusiastic about getting started, and even throughout the turmoil and uncertainty of not knowing who was initially going to teach the course, we were able to pull together and generate an amazing journal. This wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication and drive of this year’s Northern Eclecta staff. 

One thing that really worked in our favor was the class collaboration. We all worked well together, and communication between teams was extensive. Everyone was willing to put in the effort to really push through the challenges and get the next edition published this semester– especially since the majority of the class wasn’t really sure what the course Literary Publications was or what the expectations were when first starting.

While choosing our theme, we wanted to allow for multiple interpretations that would resonate with our audience. While the core of our theme “Legends” meant that the majority of our submissions were based in fiction—mythologies, stories passed down, magical explanations for everyday phenomena—we also wanted to be open to how everyday moments of life can become legendary. The people around us—the mentors who’ve taught us, random people on the street—the losses and opportunities that we face on an everyday basis that we later realize had a much bigger impact than we may have originally thought.

We want to offer our deepest gratitude to Jamee Larson, who was unable to advise this semester but still provided unwavering support. Jamee’s commitment to Northern Eclecta is nothing short of astounding. We would like to also extend our appreciation to Dr. Suzzanne Kelley for taking over at the last minute and going along with such an abnormal class with little knowledge of how the course was structured. We want to acknowledge what a huge undertaking Northern Eclecta is and how grateful we are to both of you for helping us strive to accomplish the goals we set for ourselves and for our audience. 

We hope you enjoy reading the 19th edition as much as we enjoyed putting it together.