Central College’s annual Writing Anthology, a collection of exceptional student work from across the liberal arts curriculum, has been released for the 2021-22 academic year. This marks the 42nd year for the Writing Anthology, which has been continuously published at Central since 1981.
Walter Cannon, professor emeritus of English, founded the project with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Since then, the anthology has strengthened a college-wide commitment to writing across the curriculum by celebrating exemplary student writing in the liberal arts, STEM and the applied arts. Publications include both traditional and innovative texts that reflect sophistication in a specific academic discipline or expert integration of several disciplines.
The Writing Anthology is available at central.edu/writing-anthology. It includes this year’s 14 pieces of work, as well as links to past issues. This year, the editors introduced a new section featuring full-color panels of student art.
Gabi Anderson, Class of 2022, Emma Carlson, Class of 2022 and Mattie Francis, Class of 2023, served as editors. Faculty members Valerie Billing, assistant professor of English, and Anna Christensen, assistant professor of philosophy, served as advisors.
The editors acknowledge that “as writers, artisans, scientists and mere human beings, we are all united and empowered by our individual ability to tell one another stories. The very act of doing so is healing on both ends. While the broader universe may be indifferent to our opinions, we always remain capable of caring deeply about our fellow mortal beings. This is in part why we are so particularly proud to present the 2022 anthology; it contains student works that illuminate a wide variety of healing perspectives.”
Sarah Smith, Class of 2025, from Sumner, Iowa, received the John Allen Award honor. Smith’s piece “To My Core” is a combination of both original poetry and analytical writing. The editors wrote: “Sarah’s articulate command of language and free-verse poetry elicits raw, powerful reactions from her reading audience. Through this brilliant work, Sarah brutally but beautifully depicts grief, and she prompts us all to be more honest about the more vulnerable elements of our own personal bereavements.”