Hello readers,
When I started as Editor-in-Chief, I knew this would be a hard semester. Waymark as an organization has been recently revived after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and though we were alive and operating, I wanted to make sure that we were living. That was my journey this semester, and it will continue to be my journey next semester: bringing new members into our fold, offering exciting events, and publishing interesting and engaging content from students across North America.
I’ve learned a lot this semester. As this was my first time being the editor-in-chief, I had to learn how to communicate and how to temper my vision to be attainable for everyone. I learned how to use WordPress, which was a scary learning process (I was terrified I would delete the website). I also started my first podcast with Waymark. The process of doing Waymark: Unbound has been anxiety inducing and exhilarating—I have never hated something more than hearing the sound of my own voice, yet I keep sitting in my chair every week and gabbing about books and tropes and romance. Everything about this time has been immensely informative to me, and I look forward to carrying the experience of my successes and failures with me going forward.
The Waymark Fall/Winter ’24 issue was themed “Campaign.” I took inspiration from the recent rise in popularity of Dungeons and Dragons, whose long-form game sessions are called campaigns, and the 2024 Presidential Race. I was struck by this homonym and its vastly different connotations of the same idea—a process of accomplishing a goal, usually with the help of some friends. I sought to exploit the intersection of these two contrasting settings and encourage stories of hard-working people overcoming obstacles and defeating an adversary. Sadly, no stories were submitted to the theme of the issue. While I was dismayed at first, though still excited to have pieces to publish, I realized the campaign I was most concerned about was my own. This issue was my campaign over the last 5 months, with plenty of obstacles for me to overcome and the occasional adversary to vanquish. Most importantly, I was able to accomplish it with the help of some of my friends. Speaking of which…
I’m so thankful for my editors for always asking questions, keeping me on my toes, and being willing to learn. I’m thankful for my genre readers for helping support my vision and bringing their critical eyes to the reviews of our pieces. I’m thankful to my reviewers for helping keep Waymark engaged with the greater literary world and bringing their own unique perspective on popular works. I’m thankful for my media team for making our excellent graphics and editing the podcast. I am so thankful for our faculty advisor that deals with my dramatic mannerisms, occasional blockheadedness, and random Microsoft Teams messages. I’m also so appreciative of the KSU faculty and staff in the English department and Writing Center who have supported me and supported Waymark through this time. Most importantly, I’m thankful to you, reader, for being the person we’re doing all of this for.
The Fall/Winter ‘24 Issue of Waymark is a humble start for us, and I’m excited to see how we grow from here. Enjoy our stories, poems, episodes, art, and pictures from this year. Hopefully you have as much fun reading our issue as we had making it.
All my best,
Duke Jenkins
President & Editor-in-Chief