The Liberator Magazine
The Official Publication of the College of Liberal Arts
Written by Aryan Bhalla. Graphic by Quynhmai Tran. – Should I, Rest as I do; aimless; like a polarizing wind or must I rise above these clouds? Shrouded in mystery as my destiny and the stars hide behind these clouds. Compounded in labor as my life shies away behind these clouds. Groom my wings and face my fears, Should I […]
Written by Cameron Waltz. Graphic by Emma Robinson. – A Warm Embrace I hold him close. Don’t leave me for the World yet. You’re far too young to leave my arms. The great, wide world is one of danger and loss. I tug you back to rest, but you won’t let me hold you down. I wish I could keep […]
Written by Kate DillerGraphic by Emma Robinson – “Suddenly, or perhaps imperceptibly slowly, my lungs are empty. I cannot find air, even as my chest heaves, trying to draw it in.” – The desk beneath me is shockingly cold, distracting me momentarily from the scene before me. My attention doesn’t stray for long though, the sharp scent of blood drawing […]
Written by Hector Osegueda. Graphic by Emma Robinson. – And there we were The air, how brisk and free as it flurried past up […]
Written by Luisana Cortez. Graphic by Emma Robinson. – I cannot detach my cousin Ramona from the memories of my flesh. Through the darkness, she surfaces, baring the sun-lit mesh of my childhood: crooked teeth, feral eyes, my lumping chest, the curvature of a rib cage. I blink, and just as the familiar strain of the desert heat hits my […]
Written by Caroline Tsai. Graphic by Emma Robinson. – I am seven years old when I decide to be white. I pester my parents over and over again with the possibility that I might have been adopted – as if I might be able to sever the source of my non-whiteness that way. Upon finally realizing that I am irrevocably, […]
Written by Keesilla Chan. Graphic by Emma Robinson. – There was a knock on the front door. Three taps, quick, quiet, and somewhat familiar. I moved to the front door and opened it. I couldn’t hide the surprise in my greeting, but you didn’t say anything. You walked in before I had even stepped back, already taking off your shoes. […]
Written by London Furr. Graphic by Emma Robinson. – Mother Why can’t you teach me to read? Cravings The water I drink is never clean It’s not fair Modern slave, will I ever be freed? Life is hard My hourglass is ticking Mother Can I sleep in and go to school late? Cravings To be thin, I toss the trash […]
Written by Luke Hernandez. Graphic by Emma Robinson. – I see my life in class As a debate People tearing me in apart in different directions, They are “rational” When I upset them I am “emotional” Playing with the idea of power within a powerful institution Yet when I, just a voice, defend myself My life I am scorned, broke […]
Written by Jake Costello. Graphic by Emma Robinson. – Rain falls with the ticking of a distant clock: the hour hand with the winds, the minute hand with the claps of thunder, the second hand with each droplet that falls. Ominous clouds raise from beyond the horizon, with them a million and million more of their little fellows, ready for […]
Written by Ryan Mata. Graphic by Emma Robinson. – So far I have done a simple service to my memories, and that is to remember them. But I haven’t remembered so much as I have “just managed” to not forget. When I look in my own eyes I think, “I am a passenger in this journey, but a driver in […]
Written by Mary Jo Gould. Graphic by Emma Robinson. – Challenge. It seems to always be the topic of discussion Almost to the point it gives me a concussion. I have never climbed a mountain, Never been skinny dipping in a fountain. There are no obstacles for me to overcome. Unless you consider where I have come. The challenge that […]
Written by Toni Bonvillain. Graphic by Emma Robinson. – My therapist once told me “success is in the baby-steps,” so on those days when you feel too numb to move, just get out of bed. That would be enough. The start of something is still something even if you never see the end, so remember that you are alive, and […]
Written by Caroline Rock. Graphic by Emma Robinson. – On a night when you can’t seem to think straight Tears wash away a layer of your face Revealing someone you thought you’d outgrown To show you for, maybe, the person you really are A girl Trying to grow up Crawling in your own skin each day Until finally you can’t […]
Written by Shini Meyer Wang. Graphic by René Magritte, Golconde (1953). – their separations exact a rising or falling echelon plotted on a triple axis world their expressions placid faces emptied like the people on subway trains who carry a sacred anonymity mornings I crack open my kitchen window to breathe or to be greeted by the rows of windows […]
Written by Allison McCarty. Graphic by Peyton Cabaniss. Originally published as part of the Spring 2019 “Challenge” Issue.– Months. Weeks. Days. Hours. Minutes. It usually comes down to minutes. Assignments, papers, tests, they’re all posted months in advance. The dates on the syllabus are distant, almost inconceivable. No need to think about it, there’s plenty of time. Write it on the […]
