Foreword from the Editors (Spring 2021)
April 26, 2021
Dear Friends of MORIA,
I am Alexandria Villegas, the current Editor-in-chief of MORIA, Woodbury University’s undergraduate-run, online, national literary magazine for professional writers. Today, I have the pleasure of announcing the publication of Issue Seven! My time on the staff of MORIA, both in Spring 2021 and Fall 2020, was filled with incredible experiences that I am certain I will not soon forget.
As we collectively embrace this year, already set to follow in the tumultuous footsteps of its predecessor, it is my sincere hope that all of you will enjoy our seventh issue, “Stranger Than Fiction.” Throughout our process of reviewing submissions, we repeatedly found it uncanny how so many minds had drifted toward the surreal. In considering how people will continue to adjust to new normals as we grapple with the effects of a global pandemic and societal changes, it was evident to us that in coping, everyone reflected not only upon this extraordinary time, but on the peculiarity of the everyday in this world, which is often stranger than we suppose and certainly more than fiction. As you read, you can follow along through the themes and narrative arcs that structure this issue: meta-writing; surrealism and science fiction; childhood experiences; identity, pandemic, and change; temporary relationships; family and nostalgia; issues of faith; and love.
MORIA has always made a commitment to fostering diversity in the literary community, and this time was no exception. For Issue Seven, we had an acceptance rate of 18.7%, as we received 278 pieces, representing 84 writers from 16 different countries. Of our 53 accepted pieces, 61% were from women and 22% were from writers of color. This issue also featured high school students to those over 75 years of age, which showcases the variety of perspectives integral to representation here at MORIA.
On behalf of the MORIA staff, I want to recognize and thank everyone whose efforts made Issue Seven a reality. We would like to express our gratitude to the authors, those new and those returning, and their work, which transformed Issue Seven from a series of blank pages to an expressive landscape of human experience. Regardless of the circumstances, these writers have continuously strived to communicate both the personal and universal in the works that shape this publication, and for that we are incredibly humbled. We would also like to acknowledge the outstanding faculty at Woodbury University, who have always dedicated themselves to ensuring MORIA’s success. In particular, we would like to offer thanks to Randy Stauffer, Sr. Vice President of Woodbury University, for his continued commitment and encouragement; Dr. Reuben Ellis, Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, for his unwavering support; Dr. Richard Matzen, Interim Chair of the Writing Department, for his enthusiasm; and Elizabeth Cooper and Rachel Farnsworth for all the behind-the-scenes work that they do for the College of Liberal Arts. Lastly, on behalf of the student editors of MORIA, we would like to thank Dr. Linda Dove, our Faculty Editor, for her direction and persistent devotion to helping us create a quality seventh issue, and for her tireless commitment to making MORIA as good as it can be. It is clear that all of us on staff have grown immensely over the course of producing this issue, having become far closer and far more knowledgeable than we were when we began. And for this I would like to give a personal thanks to the rest of my team, who truly made MORIA an outstanding experience.
Despite all of the hardships that everyone faced, we were able to pull together and create what I hope you will find to be an outstanding issue. I am immensely proud of the staff for their incredible work, and I am so grateful to have been on this team. With that said, I hope you enjoy Issue Seven, “Stranger Than Fiction.”
Best wishes,
Alexandria Villegas, Editor-in-chief
for the Editors of MORIA Literary Magazine