A Message from our 2023 Head Editor
Dear Reader,
It is truly a gift to share expression. I find myself coming back to these words and all it can mean, while in the midst of creating. All the places or depths creating can take you, from epiphanies and urgencies to curiosities, to even what can feel like madness, the world needs all of it. To share this gem of a magazine and be a part of its revived legacy, I’d like to say as my final reflection that, creating, in all forms, is endlessly piecing together bits of our souls and bracing them for connection. We write and make not just to be heard and tell stories, but to leave parts of ourselves behind, and that is an endless curation of art and life.
Being an editor for Northwest Boulevard these past three issues have taught me more than enough about how powerful a group of creatives can be—especially undergraduates. Reviving the magazine during the pandemic, I felt a sense of light, that this too can be a new beginning emerging from a dark time. Then, jumping to our first in-print 2022 issue (since 2018) led me to think in immense excitement, that there’s so much more we can do! I was determined that this 2023 issue would be published before my time as an undergrad was through. Give and take a few bumps and dry spells, and a small, dedicated, passionate editorial staff, we did it.
I find this issue well curated to the means of connection, and I hope you, reader, can immerse yourself in these pages, not just as passive readers but as active participants. Engage with the pieces that stir your soul and inspire your own creative avenues. Because in the end, art can live anywhere you let it, if you just let it.
With heartfelt appreciation and anticipation for the creative horizons ahead, thank you for joining us on this incredible journey of making, doing, and aspiring. To many more!
–Noelle Bowden
