Diana Angelo
Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

Ten years ago, after a nearly 60-year hiatus, 12th Street returned to print and reinvented itself to address the modern climate. In many ways, the voices in these revived pages are fresh and new. The world turns and new matters arise which beg to be grappled with; beg to be resolved; beg to be wrestled down to the ground in the streets, in a song, or on a sheet of paper. And, of course, sometimes, there’s nothing to be grappled with, wrestled with, or resolved at all. Sometimes these voices merely celebrate all the simple things that make us human, that connect us to each other. Either way, what we say, have said, and will say etches into time the mood of the time and the climate of the day.

Yet there’s an echo in here, something oddly familiar, that stirs us; it wakes us up, shakes up the world—from uneasy rest. And I’m not sure if it’s good or bad—good that we at The New School and at 12th Street revisit old matters of discussion and demand resolution—or at least conversation—or bad that there needs to be an echo or revisitation at all. What I am sure of is that this conundrum is not lost on our readers, our contributors, our student body, our City, nor a great many of our fellow human beings with whom we share this world.

In the midst of all the other climate changes we were dealing with this year, we witnessed one of the most daunting and demoralizing presidential elections in history, though given the current temperature, it may not have been much of a surprise. But there were encouraging voices that surfaced in our submissions pile—voices that spoke to unity, hope, forgiveness—yet also asked us never to forget. And we were reminded that what we need to do now, more than ever, is continue to celebrate great writing.

So celebrate with us, as we go on a “Museum Trip” with Kaylin Dodson and sit out on a stoop in Brooklyn with Louisa Strothman in “Whose Despair?” as they turn up the heat on race and “wokeness” and ask us not to forget. Come along for “Dead Bananas” in which Isabelle Hay, in candid prose, reminds us that when it comes to getting our shit together, we can all relate. “Click Here,” as Juliana Broad suggests, for a challenging conversation about gender and the body in cyberland. Spend a lyrically stunning “Gardenia Summer” in Beirut with Noura Kiridly, as she traces her way through a war-ridden city along a wall at the intersection between memory and flesh. Got an excessive love for knowledge? Well you may be experiencing epistemophilia. Victoria Iglesias’s “The Mind Manifesto” can explain.

12th Street has always been devoted to publishing the most powerful undergraduate student work at The New School. But this year’s issue is particularly breathtaking, touching, and bold. The breadth of work in this issue makes no exception when it comes to etching into time the mood of our modern day. It also has no qualms about revisiting the past or expressing hope for the future. This season’s issue is directly reflective of the tumultuous climate that has blown in for the time, and it has been bittersweet selecting the pieces that we thought would speak to and address such an event. I couldn’t be more proud of our 12th Street team and of our contributors. Cheers to making your mark on this world, and for shining a little light in it too.

—Diana Angelo