Fall 2019

Letter from the Editor

Dear Reader,

The critical and creative works featured in these pages showcase both the breadth and depth of inquiry characteristic of the MALS community. This issue is possible only because of the diverse contributions of authors who put forth their original work, as well as the commitment and diligence of our editorial team.

Together, these pieces form a constellation with an interest in investigating place: how the places that we inhabit shape us, and how we, in turn, are inhabited by place. This query unfolds in the unique stories of Chinese nationals living and working in the Côte d’Ivoire, as it does in the search of Feminism for the 99% crossing borders from Spain to Argentina rippling into the United States and beyond. In fiction, one author explores what it means when one of the places we exist is sickness. These places all consist, at least in part, of the relationships that form within them.

The pieces toggle between attention to the microscopic details—the way light touches the cross hatching of a china bowl or the intricately repeating patterns in a succulent plant, alternating shades of pink and verdant green—and the cosmic. The microscopic speaks to the cosmic, and sometimes, these visions touch: the spire of Baker library scraping against the starlight, a red lighthouse vivid against blue sky, a piece of trash that is repurposed for art that speaks to the universal reality of climate change.

Through Clamantis, we continue to look for ways to use our writing to come together: through workshops, storytelling nights, and other events. This past year, we have opened submissions to our broader Guarini community of other graduate students, exploring the connections between our different fields, as the MALS program, too, begins to look further afield to the Medical Humanities to expand the scope of our interdisciplinary endeavors.

We see the journal as itself a place, a site for investigation through writing and visual art, a meeting ground for Dartmouth writers, artists, and scholars, a window to the world, and it is with great excitement that we share it with you.

We wish to express our deep gratitude for the ongoing dedication, support, and guidance of our faculty advisor, Anna Minardi. It is thanks to her unwavering enthusiasm that the journal is possible.

We hope that you enjoy the pieces presented here.

Amanda Gokee