Northwestern Qatar students have launched an online literary journal – Wisteria – that will publish the students writing in poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and art.
Inspired by the unprecedented challenges of 2020 and the creative output that resulted from it, the students – who worked with Northwestern Qatar Professor Sam Meekings – produced the online publication to promote the creativity and diversity of the school’s student body.
According to Meekings, the projects “promote communication, connection, creativity and community. The journal is a celebration of our creative voices,” he said, “which are particularly important right now as so many of these poems, stories and artwork highlight ways of finding strength and perseverance during difficult times. I really believe that creative work has the ability to bring a community together in conversation and discovery.”
The students plan to publish the magazine each semester. The pieces in this edition are written under the theme, Silver Linings and Stormy Clouds – a theme, Meekings said was selected for its “relevance to the time we are living in, a world swept by a global pandemic and uncertainty.”
Included in the inaugural issue of Wisteria is an article by Tayyaba Imran, on the challenges that international students experienced as a result of the pandemic, a fiction story about bullying and Islamophobia by Lujain Assaf, a poem by Ghalya Al-Mohammed on the challenges of the past year, and a digital art piece on the importance of being resilient in the current political climate by Princess Collado.
“Sometimes it is during our darkest days that we produce some of our best work,” Salma Al Delaimi, a submission manager on the project noted, adding that the theme for this edition “showcases polarity and gives participants a chance to share their stories and experiences during this turbulent time.”
Collado, who is also serving as visual design manager, said the publication is “an exhibit of the creativity NU-Q students ... it's a culmination of works that celebrate ideas and imagination and the powerful messages behind them.”
The Wisteria team also includes Moom Thahinah as editor-in-chief of the journal, Elissa Mefleh as art editor, Bisrat Tasew as poetry editor, Lana Al-Qatami and Lena Al-homoud as non-fiction editors, Lujain Assaf as fiction editor, Manan Bhavni as a copy editor, Khadija Ahmad as poetry editor, Hongji Feng as fiction editor, Zeest Marrium as a social media manager, and Christopher Fwalanga as visual design manager.
Inspired by the unprecedented challenges of 2020 and the creative output that resulted from it, the students – who worked with Northwestern Qatar Professor Sam Meekings – produced the online publication to promote the creativity and diversity of the school’s student body.
According to Meekings, the projects “promote communication, connection, creativity and community. The journal is a celebration of our creative voices,” he said, “which are particularly important right now as so many of these poems, stories and artwork highlight ways of finding strength and perseverance during difficult times. I really believe that creative work has the ability to bring a community together in conversation and discovery.”
The students plan to publish the magazine each semester. The pieces in this edition are written under the theme, Silver Linings and Stormy Clouds – a theme, Meekings said was selected for its “relevance to the time we are living in, a world swept by a global pandemic and uncertainty.”
Included in the inaugural issue of Wisteria is an article by Tayyaba Imran, on the challenges that international students experienced as a result of the pandemic, a fiction story about bullying and Islamophobia by Lujain Assaf, a poem by Ghalya Al-Mohammed on the challenges of the past year, and a digital art piece on the importance of being resilient in the current political climate by Princess Collado.
“Sometimes it is during our darkest days that we produce some of our best work,” Salma Al Delaimi, a submission manager on the project noted, adding that the theme for this edition “showcases polarity and gives participants a chance to share their stories and experiences during this turbulent time.”
Collado, who is also serving as visual design manager, said the publication is “an exhibit of the creativity NU-Q students ... it's a culmination of works that celebrate ideas and imagination and the powerful messages behind them.”
The Wisteria team also includes Moom Thahinah as editor-in-chief of the journal, Elissa Mefleh as art editor, Bisrat Tasew as poetry editor, Lana Al-Qatami and Lena Al-homoud as non-fiction editors, Lujain Assaf as fiction editor, Manan Bhavni as a copy editor, Khadija Ahmad as poetry editor, Hongji Feng as fiction editor, Zeest Marrium as a social media manager, and Christopher Fwalanga as visual design manager.
