Voce
Our pupil-led magazine
Here are some excerpts from the inaugural edition of the pupil-run magazine ‘Voce’; dedicated to celebrating diversity at Westminster. To see the full edition please go to www.owconnect.com
Our Own Land
But we’ll lie in it and be it,that’s why, so freely, we call it our own. – Anna Akhmatova, translated from the Russian by Richard McKane
The name of this publication aims to emulate the meeting of cultures within its pages. Voce means ‘voice’ in Latin, Italian and Romanian, ‘oar’ in Fijian, ‘fruit’ in Serbo-Croatian, and ‘you’ in Portuguese. Each of these meanings resonates with the freedom of selfexpression that we find in written words, both as writers and readers.
backgrounds and memories of our classmates, teachers, and staff. These poems, short stories and personal reflections transport us across the world, from Argentina to Sri Lanka to Finland, while the translations from Russian and Ancient Greek are a reminder that time and language need not be barriers to understanding.
It is perhaps ironic that we must choose a language in which to write about our relationship with languages, cultures, nationalities; the act itself can feel limiting or like a declaration of allegiance. In discovering and defining our own land, many of these pieces therefore interweave English with phrases from mother tongues, vernacular and beyond.
Diversity today is an undeniably charged word, carrying various political connotations in each of our minds. The word itself emphasises our differences, a source of inspiration for some and division for others. This magazine proudly celebrates the many nationalities, ethnicities, and ancestral roots upon which the modern Westminster School is built. Yet what makes each of these pieces so striking is not their removal from our own lives, but their familiarity: precious time with our grandparents,
At Westminster, we’re so used to the diaspora that surrounds us that we often forget to appreciate the
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The Elizabethan Newsletter
hope and self-doubt, the inexplicable warmth of hygge. At times, they remind us that we can still do better: diversity is at the core of the social harmony and intellectual growth that we so prize at Westminster, not in opposition to them. The following works are jubilant, defiant, incisive, and reflective. Many explore the migratory journeys of their parents and grandparents as well as the complexities and frustrations of belonging. Most of all, they are proud reclamations of our unique identities, rooted in our common humanity as citizens of the world and as Westminsters.
