VARIATIONS, NASH’s beloved literary and arts magazine, is returning from the dead.
The last publication of VARIATIONS was sent out in 2020, and due to complications with the COVID-19 pandemic, no issues have been created in the years afterwards. Three years later, plans for the award-winning magazine’s return are being set into motion.
Prior to the pandemic, the VARIATIONS magazine produced regular publications for 47 consecutive years. Issues contained a vast collection of art, poetry, short stories, and photographs, all created and submitted by particularly creative NASH students.
NASH junior Linda Kong, alongside a small team of students and staff sponsors Mrs. Waddell and Ms. Bojalad, has been working to reconstruct VARIATIONS in time for a May 2024 issue of the long-defunct magazine.
Kong was eager to speak about the magazine’s relaunch.
“I think VARIATIONS offers a unique space where students can share their own creative works with others,” she said. “It’s also a place where students’ creative works are being taken seriously.”
All NASH students will be capable of getting involved in VARIATIONS in two different ways. Students can either become editors, where they get the opportunity to assist in the composition process, or they can contribute to the magazine’s content by submitting a piece to be considered for publication–or both! Evaluation is completely blind; the student’s identity will not be considered in the decision process, so being an editor won’t have an effect on one’s own submission review. More information on VARIATIONS submissions is expected to be released shortly.
A few alterations have been made to the magazine, the most major revision being the place of publication. While there are still plans for physical editions of the yearly published issue, VARIATIONS will be predominantly housed online, with the hope that the magazine will now be more easily accessible for students hoping to read it or submit their work.
Teachers Mrs. Waddell and Ms. Bojalad shared that they both held core positions in their own high school’s literary magazines and are extremely excited to be the new staff sponsors for VARIATIONS’s return.
“I would love to see VARIATIONS return to its previous level of popularity and esteem at NASH,” Waddell said. “The editions of VARIATIONS I’ve had the chance to read were excellent and really a testament to the students’ love of literature and art, and an expression of amazing creativity. My hope is that the new VARIATIONS team can achieve this same level of excellence…I think the team forming to put the magazine together is a great group, and we can create something really special.”
Bojalad stated her hopes for student impact.
“My primary hope and goal for this year is to create a product that students can feel proud of,” she said. “I want VARIATIONS to be something that students are excited to contribute to and read.”
The return of VARIATIONS will fill a years-long vacancy in the NASH atmosphere. In just a few more months, the best creative works of NASH students will be featured in the spotlight once again.
“It’s an amazing feeling when a publication recognizes the value of your work and decides to publish it,” Kong said.
