It has now been a year since Stanford, and the rest of the world, shut down. Whether we were on campus or elsewhere, we were saying our farewells to friends and familiar places — farewells we thought were temporary. Now, some of us may never return to Stanford as undergraduates. And some of us still have yet to set foot there.
In a period of time that has in many ways felt stagnant, it is sometimes hard to imagine a potential for growth. That is why this issue of the Leland Quarterly is so exemplary. When the school year began remotely, my only goal was to keep this magazine alive. I did not expect it to become more alive that I have ever seen. As contributing artist Clara Spars writes in her artist’s statement, this issue “emerges as a testament to the period of growth and creativity experienced by Stanford students.” Her words are spot-on: we were astonished by the volume and quality of the submissions we received this quarter. The result was an issue much longer than our past publications, and dare I say one of the best. I feel lucky to have been able to witness such an incredible artistic outpouring.
Finally, thank you once again to the unrelenting editors of LQ, without whom this magazine would fall apart. You are the glue that holds together my rambling Slack messages and the labyrinth of folders, forms, spreadsheets, and 100-page documents in the Google Drive. Most importantly, your careful attention to each submission — and all in the midst of the brutal online quarter system — is what ensures the integrity of our publication.
And to our contributors and our readers: thank you for staying with us. As always, LQ hopes to continue to be a home for your art and a site for the flourishing creative community at Stanford. We look forward to what is to come.
