Letter from the Editors

dear reader:

We present to you the first issue to be published this 2021-22 school year. Like recent years, this year has marked a dramatic shift in our lives. No longer confined to the virtual and real boundaries of online learning and stay-at-home orders, we have been able to come together as a community. We have been able to greet our teachers face-to-face, mingle with our friends during break times, and experience the full wonder of Mitty’s traditions—of course, with a mask on.

Change in our lives manifests in our artwork and creative efforts, and this year has been no different. As you peruse the carefully curated and designed pages of The Muse, you will be able to see works in which the tone ranges from hopeful to somber. Our color palette and the layout of the magazine attempt to capture these same emotions, as the colors range from a grounded black to a brilliant linen white, like a sunrise that represents solitude of the night and dissolves into the brightness of day.

We now release you to dive into the pages of the magazine, to explore the creative wonders and musings of Mitty’s student body. Here, we have laid forth our dreams and hopes, along with our terrors and worries, for you to view, absorb, and reflect upon. While you flip through the pages, may the spirit of the Muse inspire and enlighten you.

The hapless monster in John Gardner’s Grendel whispers in his final moments after he falls and faces death, “Poor Grendel's had an accident... So may you all.” Is this a final curse, or a blessing so that you open your eyes and find the truth? As the following pages will show, when all fell during the pandemic, we acknowledged the darkness and rose like the sun to see the light. It is ultimately up to you to decide how to answer the question…