Letter from the Editor

When we got to the point of fully mapping out the chronological spectrum of contributions for Issue 3 of Alchemy, we were delighted to notice its impressive range, from adaptations of ancient indigenous myths to work from young contemporary writers. It is tempting to infer that this speaks to the good health of an international literary student body, one which acknowledges and respects past literary traditions and continues to strive towards innovation.

Maria Cristina Fernández works with contemporary Catalan writers such as Pere Antoni Pons; and along those same lines we have William Vanherhyden, who translated a short story from one of Chile’s young rising stars, Carlos Labbé. While on the other side of the chronological spectrum we would find Yvonne Kendall’s work with 16th century Italian dance manuals; as well as Lilibeth Moreno, who presents us with a fascinating adaptation of a Raramuri myth.

We are proud to have received so many international submissions: Joanna Witkowska, a PhD candidate at the University of Edinburg, translated Boleslaw Leśmian’s “Springtime Nightmares”; Clara Lois Lozano (Spain) renders Virginia Woolfe’s “The lady in the looking glass” into Spanish. Other exciting features of this issue include Sam Jack’s translation of a section of Rainer Maria Rilke’s “The Book of Hours” — these early poems are not widely available to the English reading public, and therefore will likely be novel even to fans of Rilke — and Katie Assef’s translation of Henri Michaux’s “Plume at the Restaurant.”

And on a final note, it was particularly interesting, perhaps because I was born in Peru, to receive a high number of South American contributions to this issue of Alchemy. Aside from Labbé, we have Amanda Martin Sandino’s translation of selected passages from “The Sonnets of Death,” by Gabriela Mistral, one of two Nobel prize poets from Chile. And it is an honor to offer, in such solid company, my own translations from one of Peru’s most important contemporary writers, Rafael Espinosa.

I would also like to take a brief moment to acknowledge all the hard work from our amazing Editorial Staff, none of this would be possible without them. They are truly Alchemy’s engine.

Welcome to Issue 3.

Jose Antonio Villarán, Editor