Editors’ Note

This has been a time overwhelmingly defined by its unpredictability. We have endured, and continue to endure, a historic journey unlike any other. Although we faced these struggles as a collective, our experiences were and are still very much isolated and individual. As we begin this readjustment to a semblance of an “after,” we continue battling our fears and anxieties. Despite our hesitancy to hope, we do so anyway. We come back with a broader under- standing that everything, good or bad, is temporary. Reality, more than ever, is tentative. But it goes on. And every passing day drives us closer to solidifying our new normal.

Heliotropic, we turn to the light.

In this spirit, Quirk 2022 makes a glorious return to physical print (yes, that’s right, run the pages under your thumb, give it a whiff, annotate those margins, dog ear your favorites, curse the cold, dead touch of the screen.) In this liminal space between the pandemic and the uncertainty of whatever follows, we once again find refuge in the arts. Although far from a complete remedy, the arts give voice to our experiences and emotions—our fear and love, our loneliness and joy. These are the emotions you will find as an undercurrent within these pages. Most of all, you will find resilience. This year, to reflect this sentiment, we have included a theme category that em- phasizes human strength in the face of the pandemic. Our theme, “Growth in the Midst of Struggle,” highlights work that features progress despite and through the social, environmental, and political hardships that shaped pan- demic life.

Every year, we come together in the pursuit of compiling an authen- tic reflection of diverse voices from the global community. We wanted this edition in particular to reflect the individual struggles we withstood these past few years, giving special care to champion the voices of the marginalized and give a platform for their unique perspective. This is part of the reason why, for the first time ever, we decided to include works in Spanish.

These pieces are hesitant and triumphant, and all provide a small glimpse into the world as we experience all of its imperfect beauty. We are sure you will find here works that are devastating, tender, strange, and honest. And we are sure you will find at least some pieces that reflect your own jour- ney, just as we did. Overall, we wanted to reflect the fact that sometimes the simple act of survival is an act of bravery. An act of growth.

The answer to whether we succeeded in this mission lies within the journal itself. After all, creativity is the capacity to envision the world not necessarily as it is, but as it could be.

We hope you enjoy.