Page 72 - AAEPC Kaleidoscope Magazine Vol.4

A sanctuary for all book lovers
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the win- ter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way” (Dickens 1859). This is perhaps one of the most frequently quoted lines of Charles Dickens’s The Tale of Two Cities. In fact, that could also be an adequate portrayal of the academic year 2019-2020. What we experienced in the past year is unprecedented. It is a time we need to maintain social distance with others; it is a time we are separated from our dear friends and teachers psychologically. The sense of powerlessness in face of an unknown and unimaginable future could be overwhelming. Yet this is the exact time we need to get back to litera- ture.
Many of you may be book lovers, but what it takes to compose a creative work is an- other story. Creative writing requires a marshalling of imagination, engagement, and reflection. It is a process of creating art pieces that make the intangible tangible, the unimaginable imaginable, the unreachable reachable, and the invisible visible. In Wil- liam Wordsworth’s words, “poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity” (1798). Although not all piec- es published in this issue are poems, our contributors did show us how to “recollect emotion in tranquillity.” All of the works are so vividly coloured by our contributors’ unique cultural and social background. What we have this year is a strong collection of 25 pieces written by 17 students of various disciplines and institutions. It is an issue that truly lives up to its title – Kaleidoscope. I do hope the writing process did plant a seed of reading and writing at the bottom of the hearts of our fellow contributors and readers. With time, this seed shall grow and flourish.
As mentioned, this year is particularly difficult for us to publish Kaleidoscope. The issue would not be possible without the generous help and support of our student editors as well as Victor and Derrick. At last, I truly wish literature would remain a sanctuary of yours where you can always find a sense of peacefulness.
Dr. Emily Chow-Quesada
Associate of Arts in English for Professional Communication Faculty of Arts and Humanities