Editing

2021 has been a strange time for many of us, an odd in-between that’s neither the quarantine and stay-at-home orders of 2020, nor the more carefree world we knew before the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s strangeness has allowed us one thing in particular: introspection. Many people have taken the time to examine and truly get to know themselves in a way they never did before, and that thread of self-examination and identity runs through many of the pieces featured here.

The common link between each of these pieces is identity. Whether it’s forming new connections or examining oneself, these authors have explored their characters’ identities and how it fits into the world around them, crafting wonderful pieces in the process. As such, this edition of Gallimaufry’s theme is “identity”.

We hope you enjoy the pieces collected here, both written and visual. They’ve been created with the utmost care.

— MAEVE VASKO, ‘22

Perhaps it is apt that the theme of the 2020-2021 literary magazine is solitude. A common thread links all submissions: in written pieces, the narrator is alone, whether they are physically by themselves, they stand alone in their opinions, or they have withdrawn themselves from a situation. In illustrated works, the subject is often depicted in isolation.

This has been a strange year, and a lonely one for many. But the tone of these pieces is not overwhelmingly melancholy—they convey joy, passion, horror, righteousness. As much as we ourselves remained isolated this year (something we are only beginning to recover from) our lives were not simply doom and gloom. There were pockets of happiness too, as well as anger, and curiosity, and satisfaction.

The artists and authors who showcase their work in this year’s magazine are all immensely talented. It is the prerogative of a talented creator to reflect the world in their work; we hope that in reading Gallimaufry, you may recognize elements of your own experiences in our stories and art.

Enjoy. — MAEVE VASKO, ‘22