In the world of paradoxes, nothing is as it seems to be. Delightfully curious and enigmatic, paradoxes combine absurd ideas together to form unimaginable results. This year, Northwood’s literary magazine, Le Crescente, embodies the essence of intricate paradoxes and pleasantly perplexing themes.
Founded in the 2022-23 school year, Le Crescente is a collection of literary works produced by Creative Writing students. From personal essays to prose to poetry, all pieces are tied together with an overarching theme, which for this issue will be “Paradox.”
“Essentially, a paradox means two things that are contradicting one another are able to be true at the same time,” senior Sam Jalalpour said. “Each writer has a different motive and goal, so the artist is able to send their own message, within the framework of the paradox, to the audience.”
Le Crescente is produced by students in Creative Writing and Advanced Creative Writing with every student submitting a work for publication. For the December and March issues, artistic accompaniments will be provided by the writer, but the Spring edition will feature a collaboration with Art teacher Kim Rohr’s Portfolio Art class.
Writers receive coaching and feedback on their craft from Adviser Marina Alburger and their peers, going through multiple drafts before they publish. Every class, writers assemble into groups to work on their projects, while Editor-In-Chief Ashley Wang and other student project leads offer assistance and exchange ideas.
Of the many works to look forward to reading, senior Grace Micheline’s tale of acceptance is riveting with beautifully composed imagery. Junior Charlie Parris writes of a dystopian future where people can buy their spouses, spinning a wild tale rife with psychological warfare. Sophomore Kevin Xie’s “Wolf & Lamb,” Xie plays with the fickle idea of death through exquisite storytelling techniques.
“Obviously, the main goal is to get people to read our magazine,” layout editor junior Jasmine Le said. “But I also want people to walk away knowing about this huge community that we have.”
With the magazine set to publish during finals week, writers hope that the publication will inspire other students to express themselves through creative writing.
“There are a lot of people who think ‘I’m not good at writing’ or ‘I can’t creatively write,’ but that’s so untrue,” Le said. “Even if you don’t think you’re good at writing, just getting out your words onto the page is a great skill to have.”
