Search Our Writing:
Climate Despair and Our Death Wish
January 20, 2022 | By Sharla Moody BK ‘22
Water surges past the Statue of Liberty’s waist, empties into the crowded rush hour streets of Manhattan. Cars, trucks, and buses surf on the wall of filthy water bearing down on terrified bystanders. The sky erupts with hail the size of basketballs, indiscriminately falling on people frantically running to take shelter. Enormous tornados engulf entire skyscrapers in Los Angeles, spitting rubble down onto screaming bystanders, the carnage raining down beyond any Old Testament judgment.
The Age of the Prophets Has Ended (Or So We Thought)
January 20, 2022 | By Vienna Scott BF ‘21
I was vaguely aware of astrology in high school but, my real introduction occurred in my freshman year at Yale. As far as I was concerned, Leo was an actor and Cancer was a disease. But when a classmate offhandedly mentioned that there hasn’t been a Pisces president since 1897 in a seminar and the professor didn’t guffaw, I realized I needed to study up on all things above the stratosphere.
Heaven Is a Place on Earth?
December 31, 2021 | By Sharla Moody BK ‘22
The science fiction of the first half of the twentieth century appears much more optimistic than what we see today. This optimistic sci-fi can perhaps be best exemplified by Hanna-Barbera’s 1962-1963 cartoon The Jetsons, which imagines what life might be like in the year 2062. The Jetsons drive a flying car, live in an ultra modern city built in Earth’s atmosphere, and exist as a happy nuclear family.
How (Not) To Renew a City
December 31, 2021 | by Amelia Dilworth BR’23
The Pruitt-Igoe housing projects sink into the ground one broken window at a time, sections of buildings falling in waves like rows of wounded soldiers faltering to their knees before collapsing in the rubble. Smoke rises from the ground, the same color as the crumbling gray walls. Apartments lay in the rubble ripped open like carcasses. Half-exploded buildings kneel in the remains of their brothers, awaiting destruction.
This is St. Louis, Missouri. America is bombing its own city.
Batter My Heart
December 31, 2021 | Shi Wen Yeo MC ‘23
The famous English poet John Donne is said to have been so afraid of and obsessed about death that he, on multiple occasions, rehearsed his death by lying still in his hearse and having someone paint the dead likeness of him. Indeed, he was a poet of the English Renaissance, characterised by his polemic attitudes—in his youth, he wrote many famous erotic love poems yet moved to somber sermons in adulthood, and he even converted from the “salvation through works” Catholicism to “faith and works” Anglicanism to become an important preacher in the Church of England. Ostensibly, he was a troubled figure, full of personal vacillations and characterised by contradictions—not unlike many Christians today.
How Could Immortality Be Good?
December 31, 2021 | By Shayley Martin DC ‘22
In books and movies, immortality is generally a bad thing. We watch characters strive for it only to discover that life goes sour if prolonged. Even aside from practical issues like overpopulation and resource depletion, there’s a prevailing idea that human nature can’t stomach living forever. The end of a Netflix series called The Good Place captures this well: the occupants of paradise become so bored with the afterlife’s never-ending stream of pleasures that they rejoice when finally offered a chance to vanish from existence. The show concludes that fleetingness gives life its meaning.
Upcoming Events:
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William Blake Private Exhibition Tour
THURSDAY, OCT 2ND, 10:30-11:30 AM, Yale Center for British Art
Peter Wicks of the Elm Institute will guide us through the traveling exhibition ‘William Blake: Burning Bright’ at Yale Center for British Art. No previous experience with art or William Blake required. Meet in the Yale Center for British Art lobby.
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Vibe Meeting
THURSDAY, OCT 9TH, 6:15-7:15 PM, William Harkness Hall, RM 012
This week, we will have a more relaxed meeting to chat, have snacks, and play some board games!
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Second Draft Workshop
THURSDAY, OCT 23RD, 6:15-7:15 PM, Location TBD
Second drafts for our print publication are due Oct 31st, so this meeting will cover common problems in the first drafts, what to think about for the second draft, and some ideas on how to make the pieces talk to each other and flow.
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Dinner at Justin and Moriah Hawkins' House
THURSDAY, OCT 30TH, 5:30-7:30 PM.
Justin and Moriah Hawkins have graciously invited us to their house for dinner and conversation! Please email using the link below if you are interested in attending! Transportation provided. -
Content Editing Workshop
THURSDAY, NOV 6TH, 6:15-7:45 PM, Elm Institute
For our print publication, we will be conducting content editing in person. At the Elm Institute, and guided by Peter Wicks, you will be paired with a partner and will each edit each other’s pieces for content and discuss what worked and what didn’t.
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Copy Editing Workshop
THURSDAY, NOV 13TH, 6:15-7:15 PM, Location TBD
For our print publication, we will be conducting copy editing in person. You will be paired with a partner and will each edit each other’s pieces for grammar and punctuation, and polish off anything else needed in the draft.
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Veritas Weekend
FEB 6-8TH, Boston
Save the date for Veritas Weekend in Boston! More information below!