A Note From An Editor
By Dana Wolthuizen ‘15, Elizabeth Koele ‘16 & Taylor Dahlberg ‘18
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the 35th edition of The Writing Anthology.
We are very excited to share this year’s publication with you. After reviewing nearly forty submissions, we selected the following fourteen pieces to be featured in the anthology. The difficulty of this selection process is a testament to the excellent quality of student writing at Central College, and we are proud to see all the hard work put in by our peers.
The strength of many of the chosen essays lies within the powerful connections the writers make between different ideas, experiences, and the physical world. As a result, we wanted to design the anthology in a way that would reflect the connections between the concepts presented in these diverse pieces.
As readers advance through the anthology, there is a natural movement within the order of the pieces from past to present to future. The beginning of the anthology grapples with issues of the past and gradually shifts to how the past continues to influence our present. Next, the anthology’s focus turns toward current events and ideas and concludes by looking to the future. We hope you find the progression of this year’s edition meaningful while reading these exemplary pieces.
Each year we select an author as the recipient of the John Allen Award for the best example of student writing. This year, we are pleased to announce that Dana Wolthuizen will receive this honor for her insightful personal essay providing a memorable characterization of her aunt in “God Bless the Combine.” We want to congratulate all of the student authors: thank you once more for your exceptional work. The editors would also like to thank the professors who took notice and submitted these essays to the Writing Anthology. We specifically offer thanks to our faculty advisors, Dr. Walter Cannon and Dr. Jay Wackerly. Your expertise, guidance, and support throughout this process have been greatly appreciated.
Additionally, we would like to thank Professor Mathew Kelly and all of the talented artists for their outstanding contributions. We would particularly like to acknowledge Kathryn Zaffiro, who provided the cover art with her piece “Landscape.” Finally, we would like to thank Steffanie Bonnstetter, project director for Central College Communications.
Again, thank you to all who made this year’s publication possible. We simply couldn’t do it without you.
Enjoy the 2015 Writing Anthology!