Windward Review Vol. 20 (2022): Beginnings and Endings

Congratulations,
Barrio Writers 2021
Athena Armijo• Sophia Chapa• Ethan Clarke• Jacob A. Clauch •
Janet Doe• K. Elise• Evolvere (Derek)• Sophie Johnson• Jasmine
Martin• Leo Monsavais• Isadora Pak• Aleena Roy• Alisha Roy
Hello again!
We are fortunate as editors of the Windward Review to feature poetry produced
by the Barrio Writer’s youth workshop in our collection of work. For many writers at the
camp, this is their first publication; this may even be their first time creating poetry
or prose at all in a workshop setting. Throughout a whole week in summer of 2022,
each writer practiced an extreme form of vulnerability in writing and submitting to
an established literary journal. This feat is rarely attempted by most people, yet these
young voices demanded an audience! As an attendee and mentor at a summer writing
camp, there is nothing more exciting than the ability to project a writer’s budding voice.
I started writing in a similar setting to the Barrio Writers camp: the summer
after I turned 14, my mom registered me for a week-long writing workshop at TAMU-CC.
Writing wasn’t an activity that I ever expressed interest in before, but because I needed
something to fill time, she thought it would be worth a try. This was the beginning of
something. Whether it was a lifelong love for poetry or an undying need to feel heard,
this beginning is lush and fruited with so many beautiful experiences. I am now preparing
for a MFA in Poetry at the Creative Writing program in Texas State, leaving behind a
blossoming community of writers that extends all the way to the Antonio E. Garcia Arts
and Education Center. Though the journey from that first summer camp has been long
and winding, I know that I’m still at the start of something, something I can face with the
support from those around me.
“Beginnings and Endings” is such a provoking theme for this journal because
there isn’t a clear difference between the two concepts; where an ending dries out and
dies, a beginning springs up in its place. We are constantly in a state of flux, where
boundaries are blurred and there may not be a clear vision of the path forward.
Whichever direction you chose, I hope that you see the beginning of something take
place. If you can’t find that beginning, create it. Create poetry, music, code, art, research,
plans, schemes, or strategies to survive. Your imagination is the most powerful tool, one
that people often forget to use once we dictate ourselves towards a certain goal. One
step in the right direction could be the first foot down a rabbit hole of self-discovery.
Above all else, remember that you are surrounded by a community of support at every
point in your journey, and we are so lucky to see you be you in your primordial form. This
letter itself is not an ending, but a portal to the beginning of a beautiful body of work.
Thank you again to Dr. Robin Johnson of TAMU-CC and the Barrio Writers for allowing
us to publish this next collection of pieces; your workshops sparked a connection with
young writers that we cherish forever.
Onto more beginnings,
Raven Reese, Assistant Managing Editor
89 Windward Review Volume 20