KPU English department launches journal to shine light on undergrad student essays
Alight features the diverse work of 14 students
Alight is the KPU English department's first undergrad essay journal. (Submitted)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s English department has launched an annual journal to showcase the work of undergraduate students.
The inaugural issue of Alight features 14 student-written essays, ranging from short papers to long research-based articles. Essay topics are just as diverse, with work focusing on novelists and contemporary fiction to Indigenous issues, extractive capitalism, and violence against women.
This variety of topics reflect the work of the university’s English department, says Gavin Paul, a KPU English instructor who co-edited Alight alongside fellow English instructor Jessica Swain.
“It’s such an exciting range of texts that are being discussed, thought about, and grappled with by our students,” he says.
“I’m just so proud of these contributors because they represent the important work that the department is doing in terms of engaging with the world around us in a fundamentally empathetic way. I can’t think of anything more vital than that.”
Over the past year, the English faculty has collectively encountered many noteworthy pieces of writing, leading the department to search for opportunities that would not only recognize but celebrate this work. By putting together a journal, contributing students would also be able to experience the proofreading and publishing process.
“Writing is hard work,” Paul says. “It’s often a painful, lonely activity, and there are sort of flashes of recognition and flashes of community that come along with it. Obviously, publishing something is always quite exciting.”
The name Alight, a verb often used to describe a bird landing in or on something after flying, was inspired by KPU’s history with bird iconography. Submissions for the first issue of Alight were open to all English students.
“Anytime you’re able to collect this range of unique voices and perspectives, that’s precisely the kind of communal experience that a university is on its very best days — bringing these very different thinkers and voices together and listening to them,” Paul says.
Elena Barahona is a second-year English major at KPU who contributed her essay, “Solace in Solitude: The Relationship Between Isolation and Memory in George Sprott,” to the journal.
The essay is a close reading of the graphic novel George Sprott, which is a mock autobiography that explores the character’s life. Barahona explores moments of loneliness in the novel, which are shown through the isolation that comes with memories and dreams to aging and death.
For Barahona, having her work published is something she has always dreamed of.
“It’s still really cool to see this published and to see my writing out there,” she says. “It’s like my thoughts are out there, and, in some ways, very objectively, my feelings as well.”
Reading literature opens people up to the world, something Paul says is an empathetic activity.
“To read something is to occupy the perspective of someone who is not you. And I think there’s something so valuable [in that], especially in our current, chaotic, noisy moment.”
Barahona hopes readers take away the range in which they can interpret what they are reading and make connections from her essay. She’s also grateful to the KPU English department for its support.
“Even though I am in my second year, I already feel like I have progressed so much as a critical writer and reader …. I think that’s testament to the kind of learning that I have received here,” she says. “For anyone reading this journal, don’t be afraid to try to publish something. Give it a shot.”
The journal also acts as an archive of exemplary work that can inspire students, both in their writing and potentially to pursue an English major or minor, Paul says.
The English department is hosting a hard launch event for Alight on Feb. 6 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm at the Surrey campus library. The event will celebrate Alight’s contributors and provide an opportunity for faculty and students to connect.
To read the online issue of Alight, visit www.bit.ly/alightjournal.
