Origin Story
When we designed the English major at MassBay, we thought we had until the spring before the first candidate would be eligible to graduate. But I got a message from Diego Rocha in August 2016 saying he'd be done with the major by December except for this one required course, Advanced Writing. What was that all about, and could he do an independent study? I agreed to work with Diego, we signed him up, and within a day I heard from Joshua Klein: What was this advanced writing independent study that popped up the schedule, and, soon enough, could he get in on it? At the time Josh was working with the Kerouac estate, writing massive pov vr stage plays, and planning several intellectual revolutions. It seemed like a good fit.
I'd planned to produce the first issue of a new magazine with a full class in the spring to publish in May. Could we do it by early December? Well, mostly hell yeah! Our timeline reduced our chances to iterate, and we went to print with tasks still undone, bleedlines unheeded. I remember Josh turning to me the day before print and saying, "I really don't think we should put page numbers in the table of contents, because I can't guarantee anything at this point." But you promised me a magazine. The two of you did. And you delivered. We can call it lumiere, Diego said under Josh's chalkboard agenda, to shine the light on all the beauty in this community. Yes, Diego. Yes we can.
But we didn't do it alone. People found out what we were doing, saw us arguing excitedly about Josh's chalkboard diagrams. And they wanted in on it, too. Christian Hardy, our poet/legal/engineer renaissance man. Branden Lacroix, rolling saving throws for submissions against a premature dismissal, holding a poem up by the window so we could see it refracted, freshly. And have you ever met a person like JayJay? I sure haven't. I swear it was her Mountain Dew-induced snorts that called Chewy, Sabrina, Paulo, and everyone else into our staff meetings (3 snorts and it's an official meeting!). But it was her singular vision and drive that drew them to our staff...and kept doing so after Diego and Josh launched into projects on new terrain. For issue 2, and issue 3, and issue 4. Wow. What a ride.
Stephen Gaskin, the hippie veteran who founded America's longest-running intentional community, said during Sunday night mass that "Attention is energy. Whatever you put your attention into grows and prospers." We'd like to take some time and make some space, on this page and in our lives, to recognize the writers and artists who find a way to slow down, to slow us down, so that we can see. Part of lumiere's renewed 10-year mission is to shine its light in more impactful ways, taking a closer at artists themselves and a closer look under the hood, at craft.
Help us evolve. Help us help art and artists thrive. Reach out at litmag@massbay.edu if you're interested in collaborating or learning more.
—Matt Walsh, Professor of English, lumiere faculty advisor