This spring, one Queen’s publication hit the six-year mark with their bi-annual volume of student works.
On March 30, Queen’s undergraduate literary publication Quilt launched their sixth volume, Held/Close with an intimate gathering at Lay Low Café. The 73-page volume was the club’s longest ever since their founding by the English Department Student Councilin 2020, marking a new chapter for the publication as they incorporated non-literary academic works into the collection. Copies of Held/Close were sold at the launch event.
The launch event was a joyful success, opening at 6:30 p.m. with a gentle acoustic guitar set by Queen’s student musician Dani Tess, ArtSci ’28. Quilt members and their loved ones chatted as the mid-spring sunlight filtered through Lay Low’s high windows, sipping on signature cocktails “Held” (a tequila-cranberry twist) and “Close” (a hot chocolate-Kahlua delight).
Around 7 p.m., members of Quilt’s executive team took the mic to address the audience and shout out the team of editors, illustrators, and organizers who brought Held/Close to life. Authors were then invited to read excerpts of their work and share a bit about their respective meanings, a portion of the event I found particularly illuminating.
Works ranged from poetry to short fiction to academic essay, a diversity that makes Held/Close unique among Quilt’s other volumes.
“Quilt brings together the academic and the literary,” Co-Editor in Chief Madeleine Chiappetta, ArtSci ’27, said in an interview withThe Journal. “Bringing back the interdisciplinary aspect of Quilt was really important to me, and I’m glad we got to do it in this edition.”
Chiappetta referred to “Location, Location, Location,” an essay on colonial power in Spanish architecture by Eve Raine, ArtSci ’26. Chiappetta said she hopes future authors will submit academically inclined works to Quilt.
As a publication, Quilt fosters space to write for all students. “Having a place like Quilt to submit their work with a hard deadline helps people take the time to write,” Chiappetta said. Quilt accepts submissions twice a year for its fall and winter editions, both from within their some 50-person membership, and the Queen’s student body.
“There’s a lot of different places at Queen’s and in the broader community to publish things that are more traditional,” Chiappetta said. Through the inclusion of works like “Location, Location, Location,” Quilt shifts their literary canon to encompass a larger range of expression.
For example, Chiappetta also highlighted “Ocean/Wave” by Sarah O’Keefe, two poems in conversation with one another which break conventions of form to create meaning. “It’s kind of experimental poetry,” Chiappetta explained. “Giving a place for that in publication is really important.”
Quilt itself is a labour of love, helmed by a team of senior editors, editorial board members, and in-house illustrators who bring authors’ submissions to life. Illustrators and authors work together “to develop a vision related to the piece,” Chiappetta said.
For Held/Close, Quilt chose the general theme after receiving submissions as a “through-line,” according to Chiappetta. “With Held/Close, we found all the works in the edition focus on more of a moment. Works spoke to different definitions of both ‘held’ and ‘close,’” she said.
“It can be kind of a comforting hold from a parent or partner, or when you’re gripped tightly by anxiety or depression,” Chiappetta explained. This idea led to Held/Close’s cover imagery, featuring an illustration of someone pinned for inspection, like a bug.
Being “held” might be comforting and intimate, but also scrutinizing, Chiappetta said. She enjoyed seeing how the edition’s works played into different angles of the title.
With plenty to examine, capture, and explore, Held/Close is a collection of unique, inspiring works that gives voice to the student body it represents.
Tags
creative writing, Held/Close, Literature, Quilt, undergraduate literary magazine, writing
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