All good things come in three: breakfast, lunch and dinner; red, blue and yellow; The A-Blast, The Antenna and…The Filament?
That’s right, after two years, AHS’ literary magazine is making its comeback. The Filament has returned under new advisor English teacher Lillian Craig.
As its name suggests, a literary magazine publishes literature. This includes but is not limited to: short stories, poems, book reviews, and artworks.
Previously, The Filament was produced in the Creative Writing course, similarly to how the Journalism course produces the newspaper and the Photojournalism course produces the yearbook.
This year, the magazine will run as a club due to the removal of its accompanying course, a fact that shocked Craig. She feels that it would be a great way for students to express themselves.
“It surprised me that Annandale doesn’t have a creative writing class. I think that’s a really powerful outlet for a lot of students,” Craig said. “The only opportunities that students have to really write is in the journalism format, which is completely different from creative writing.”
Craig emphasizes that schools are a place to encourage students in all their passions, which is why she feels strongly about reviving The Filament.
“Students who think in a creative and artistic way deserve an outlet that is amplified by the school,” Craig said. “We can honor students’ ability to write and produce creative works by bringing back the lit mag.”
Immediately following the announcement of its re-debut, The Filament attracted the attention of many students interested in exploring and sharing their creative natures.
“I saw the fliers about [The Filament] around the school, and it talked about sharing original creative works,” senior Celine Huynh said. “I do some creative works in my own time so I wanted to check it out.”
“I was interested in joining The Filament because I thought it would be a good way to meet new people that appreciate art in the same way that I do,” junior Zahra Arshad said. “I also wanted to become a part of the staff because I am genuinely interested in expanding it.”
Anyone who is well versed in various forms of art, such as photography, writing, poetry, and more is welcome to join the staff or submit their works to The Filament. They plan to collect submissions up until February and compile everything into a magazine for students to read.
While the future is uncertain, Craig has high hopes for what is to come. She is currently looking for editors in chiefs, art editors, a literary editor, and a communications manager to help her run the magazine.
“My goal is to build a diverse and talented staff and empower those students to get the word out about submissions,” Craig said. “I want to start with a really strong leadership and have them help me encourage students to be brave enough to submit creative work.”
Craig hopes that The Filament will be self-sustaining, where current staff will be able to teach new members in the future. The institutional knowledge is gone, but she hopes to rebuild it brick by brick.
“I want this to be a student passion project,” Craig said.
The Filament will publish towards the end of the year. They will pass it out for free, something they hope to achieve through fundraisers across the school year.