Letter from the
Editor:
In my first class this quarter, I was in a breakout room where we were discussing what we thought the role of a letter from the editor was. It was a sort of horrifying experience for me, given that I knew I would eventually have to write this. Apparently, I need to perfectly encapsulate the voice and tone of the publication, be witty and likable, and also prime you for the content thatâs ahead. I donât know about all that, but I am excited to be The Monthlyâs editor and for you to read this issue. For those of you who donât know, The Monthly is an arts and entertainment magazine that publishes (who couldâve guessed) every month. We feature stories about alums, students and local residents who are involved in the arts and entertainment world, as well as our staffersâ thoughts on TV, food and music. There are so many moving parts to putting the Monthly together. It turns out that you actually canât manifest a story happening by sheer force of will. Iâm so grateful for our reporters, and for The Dailyâs web, interactives, graphics and social teams for being super flexible as stories fell through or changed. Special shoutout to my predecessor Wilson Chapman for answering so many questions about technical details, and for an intentional investment and prioritization of diverse coverage in our issues that Iâm excited to build on. The poet Kaveh Akbar once wrote, âArt is where what we survive survives.â Itâs a quote that I think of when I encounter people who feel that arts and entertainment pieces are just fluff. We can learn something about the world by understanding what artists and actors and writers and creatives of any kind are grappling with in their work, or by examining how audiences are reacting to and engaging with that work. Those takeaways can be big ideas about justice and morality. But they donât always have to be such big concepts, and I think thatâs okay. Sometimes I have a hot take on what celebrity culture can tell us about society, but sometimes I just want to plan out a collab between two Disney+ stars, with a music video where they take a road trip to somewhere more exciting than a 20-year-old manâs suburban residence (i.e., anywhere). I hope the issues this quarter can reflect that range of possibility. All this to say, thereâs a lot of heart in these stories. I hope youâre feeling primed.
Jennifer Zhan 4