Our Mission.

According to the American Library Association, there were 1,269 demands to censor books in 2022. This is the highest number they have recorded in 20 years, and it nearly doubles the amount of challenges in 2021. Also in 2022, PEN America states that 41% of challenged books from that year contain LGBTQ+ themes, 40% contain a character of color, 21% contain issues of racism, and 10% contain themes of activism. Literature is an indispensable asset to understanding the world around us, and throughout schools in America, students are not being given the opportunity to engage critically with it. By censoring books that contain diverse and challenging ideas, students are being fed a narrative that is merely palatable and not an accurate reflection of life. The students do not get a say. The goal of this literary magazine is to promote unique perspectives that are being consistently challenged within a learning environment and to put intellectual stimulation back into the hands of the students. I believe that students should be able to engage with and create works of literature that challenge their worldview and help them grow intellectually as critical thinkers but also emotionally as members of a vast and diverse human race. If you are interested in helping us fight against literary censorship, please do not hesitate to reach out.