Volume 13 (2012)

Editor's Note

When I first learned about the Bryant Literary Review, I wondered why our University would publish a literary magazine. After all, isn’t the only point of college to get a good steady job, and make a lot of money? What use do poems and short stories have in the real world? You can’t put them on your resume. They don’t add value to your 401k. So why bother with them?

Having now worked on the poetry editing staff for the BLR for 2 years, I think the best answer to such questions is that literature has value which can’t be measured. Reading and writing poems or stories may seem pointless to someone who assumes they know their path in life, but to those people I say that even the most successful individuals need a break from reality every now and then. And to people who aren’t quite sure where they’ll end up, I advise you to look everywhere for answers, not just in textbooks. No life journey is truly complete unless you’ve stopped to appreciate the beauty of the scenery between here and there.

Poems and stories, like all art, are the scenery of life. They enhance and broaden our perspectives about the world around us. They can be a cathartic source of release from tension built up in our daily lives, or they can be a simple distraction from an otherwise routine existence. And the best part about them is that they offer these things, but don’t ask for anything in return. There’s no reward for comprehending them, nor is there a penalty for failing to grasp their true meaning. Literature is merely there to be read. It is what you decide to make of it.

As you look through this magazine, I hope that you find something worth taking the time to stop and appreciate for a while. May these poems and stories brighten your path.

Miles Ferguson,
Student Editor