Windward Review

Writing as Resilience:
Select Pieces from WINDWARD REVIEW Blog
COVID-19 has brought with it a complete overhaul of the systems
we as a collective used to rely upon. These systems largely stood with only
gradual transformations for decades. We were once able to simply live
our lives without expecting much danger, but now some people have to
live with fear of leaving their houses. All of this has come as an abrupt
shock, and with all of the discourse in social media, in modern literature
and art, it’s easy to consider an even more dreadful conclusion: is this the
infamous third Horseman of the Apocalypse from the biblical Book of
Revelation?
Probably not, but times like these do have a way of revealing what’s
really important and forcing us to think about what is of the utmost value,
when the foundation of all else seems to be far too shaky.
While these times are alarming, I feel there’s potent energy for a
creative renaissance. With the new WINDWARD REVIEW Blog, we aim
to build a space where all members of the community can freely express
themselves, whether in prose, verse, or perhaps through other modes of
expression. We strongly believe in creative expression as something that
isn’t meant to be strapped down by rampant rules or by aligning with
highly specific standards. We’re not here to tell anyone they’re not good
enough. We desire to help feed your individual innate creativity.
How do we navigate such a global tragedy? With creative writing
I personally believe in finding the beauty in tragedy, without of
course overshadowing the pain with dishonesty or platitudes. To be sure,
we’ve been forced into isolation. We are unable to engage in our cherished
daily rituals the way we used to. Many of us are also jobless and in the
worst cases, we have experienced the death of loved ones.
But without the force of creative transmutation, all we have is pain
and confusion which would lead to the death of our human spirit long
before it would kill our human bodies.
As we watch these events play out—amidst concurrent poverty, racial
injustice, and violence against other minorities—the importance of
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