Issue 9, Spring 2024

From the Editors

What a pleasure it is to be revealing volume 2, issue 9 of Floodwall, the University of North Dakota’s student-run literary magazine! The time flew as it usually does, and everyone here at Floodwall is incredibly grateful to be sharing this work of collective passion and dedication with you all. Floodwall has always been a place of community, a place in which all can gather and seek shelter from the storm as the world around us changes and we along with it. Over the course of the last few issues, the number of submissions has ebbed and flowed; content changed with the state of the world; snow fell late and melted later. Throughout all of these shifts, our one constant has been the incredible dedication and constant support of our contributors, volunteers, and readers. This semester is no different—and this issue is as much a collection of change as it is a solid representation of the creative community at UND. 

This semester has been one chock-full of unprecedented experiences and exciting progress here at Floodwall, in spite of our sturdy name! As readers may notice upon opening this issue of Floodwall, we’ve upgraded our page layout. For one thing, our new layout includes the author’s name, in bold, in the header of each page of their contribution. By placing the contributor’s name on the outer edge of each page, we’re celebrating what draws all of us to Floodwall: the brilliant work of the writers and artists on campus! They’re the ones who build the wall, brick by brick. Our contributors are the heart and soul of Floodwall, and it is our greatest honor to be able to provide shelter for their creative work. 

Floodwall’s proudest accomplishment is to be part of such a wonderful community, sharing our artist’s incredible work and its development over the course of their stay at UND. This issue, of course, is no different. On the cover of this issue is Nicholas Baldwin’s piece titled “Imitating.” With its sandstone-colored backdrop and its range of colors, “Imitating” reminds us of our magazine’s namesake—the flood walls by the Red River, here in Grand Forks. Inside this issue, you’ll share in the rapid, ever-changing world of our contributors and their work as they explore the world around them. Love, both for others and oneself, and the ways in which it keeps us warm and drowns us all the same. The soft recollection of memories, as remembered by us and those with whom we share them. Identity, self-image, and the ways in which they ebb and flow with time, patience, and discovery. Seasons passing by, watching as we, too, fit in the in-betweens and change as the weather does. Our fears, our hopes, our inward and outward change as we become who we’re meant to be. So, too, Floodwall changes with them, but remains steady all the same.

While you explore the wonderful pieces within this issue, we hope you’ll also explore our masthead. There, the complete Floodwall team, including our volunteer reading board members, section editors, copyeditors, layout and design team members, and proofreaders are recognized for their incredible dedication to both Floodwall and you all, the readers. Floodwall wouldn’t be Floodwall without them, and we couldn’t be prouder of or more grateful for our team.

To view this semester's complete list of volunteers, please download this issue's masthead. For offline reading, please download this semester's complete digital version of Floodwall.