WSU LandEscapes

A Message from Us

We wanted to use this space to thank the readers, writers, and artists of the WSU community. LandEscapes would not exist without you, and that would be a damn shame. This journal has now been around for 20 years. Two decades. Our journal can almost legally drink!

This year has also been a landmark year, as we hosted our very first Drag Queen/King Storytime in November, and raised some money for Inland Oasis (a volunteer-based organization serving the needs of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Ally/Asexual communities of the Palouse). We increased our budget for the first time in ten years. There are at least seven more positions in our staff, and our office no longer looks like a prop room that’s drowning in boxes of unopened books.

As we’ve said elsewhere in this issue, it’s also been a particularly hard year. COVID-19 has affected the entire world on a scale many of us couldn’t imagine, and there were times we weren’t sure we’d be able to finish the journal. It sounds like a small potatoes issue to postpone a journal issue; in comparison to losing milestone celebrations, jobs, friends, and family members, postponing a journal IS a small potatoes issue.

But in times as depressing as these, it’s imperative people keep their spirits up. Without art to turn to, the world would feel even bleaker, and I know my staff and I would have felt like we were giving up a limb if we had to give up work on the journal. It was difficult to put out this issue in the midst of a pandemic. Almost the entire staff returned to their family homes, and in-person meetings were banned. Along with figuring out online school and work, we had to figure out how to remotely put the journal together – not even knowing for sure if we were guaranteed printed copies at the end of it all.

But we did it. Actually, we didn’t just do it- we did it right. This book is gorgeous.

We’re so proud of it, and it brought us so much joy during a less-than-joyous time. We hope it does the same for you.

Chins up, everyone.

Letter from the Editor

Sara Quenzer, Editor in Chief

My people. I don’t know if you know just how much your smiles and your passion and your presence made my year better. This journal would be nothing without all of you, and I hope you feel as connected to it as I do.

Hearing you all talk about the art we were privileged enough to see in the submissions inbox this year always left me feeling inspired and…worthy, if that makes any sense. The fact that I could help provide an environment for all of you to do such beautiful and meaningful work was really, really fulfilling — and I hope that you were fulfilled by your experience in LE too.

This year has been one of the worst of my life. I got out of an abusive relationship last April, and throughout all of our time together as a staff I’ve been dealing with CRCI and Pullman PD investigations, as well as the mental anguish that shitty relationships put people through. I thought about sharing all of this with you in person, and planned on doing so at the end of the year, but then this fucking whack virus hit. So, I’m sharing it here, and telling you that for the rest of your lives you can come to me with any problems. I’m sure you have some, even if you don’t let it show. You have my number and my email and I’ll give you so much delicious barbecue if you come see me in Kansas City.

I truly hope you all stick around in LE for the remainder of your time at WSU, because we all know that Ally Pang is going to do a kickass job as editor-in-chief, and I’m so excited to see how LE grows with the foundation of attempting a charity event, incorporating new positions, and intertwining with more of the WSU RSOs. Plus, you’ll have a bigger budget! Go buckwild, dudes. And please, please, please send me copies of the journals you create; I know they’re going to be just as stunning and wonderful as this one, I’d like to brag about you to anyone who’ll listen, and I insist on filling my cubicle with LE issues.

As for those of you reading this who aren’t staff members, sorry I just wrote so much stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with you. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I promise that the rest of the content in this journal makes up for it. Thank you for supporting the arts here on campus. It means the world to know that people actually read the project we spend months and months putting work into, and our talented contributors deserve to have their work seen.

Because of the coronavirus, we had to cancel our release party, so as you all read this, I implore you to eat some ice cream, maybe drink a lil’ drank, and if social-distancing measures are still in place then maybe FaceTime someone who gives a fuck about art the way you do.

Personal thank yous to Donna Potts, Peter Chilson, DJ Lee, Cameron McGill, Alison Boggs, Buddy Levy, Annie Lampman, Brooklyn Walter, Zili Chang, Logan Plant, Noah Benson, Angelo Timbol, Kaila Smith, Allison Eatmon, Susan Quenzer, William Quenzer, AJ Quenzer, Oscar the corgi, and, of course, Miss Ally Pang. I love you all.

Letter from the Editor

Ally Pang, Managing Editor

For a majority of creators and artists, it can be a pretty solitary life, especially since a lot of creators I know tend to fall on the timid side. Having a journal like LandEscapes providing a space to both share work and collaborate with fellow creators helps foster a confidence in quieter people like me.

From being in LandEscapes, I’ve learned the importance of being in an artistic community. Yes, it’s great to be able to focus on your work alone but having someone to just rant to about blocks in creativity helps to move past the challenges. Whether you’re outgoing with passion or softly existing in the back of the classroom, creators need other creators. It can be rough as a creative, but I believe this journal proves we’re not entirely alone.

This year of LandEscapes felt like running, not alone but together as a team of editors along the same path. It was exhilarating to be moving in a new direction. There were times where we stopped to make sure everyone was accounted for, then took off again.

With this entirely new team of editors, I can proudly say that LandEscapes is becoming an evolved version of itself. Our editors contributed new, innovative ideas to get the journal out into the community. Despite being made of individual creators, LandEscapes really came together this year to become our own community. This journal exists in all its unique glory because of the range of editors and contributors.

Escape into the themes of self-discovery, growth, and personal identity as captured by a handful of our contributors in this year’s journal. Let this journal be a way for you to escape reality, even if it’s just for a few minutes.

I hope you enjoy these pieces as much as the editors and I did.

Happy reading!