Litteratus

Dear Reader:

I am pleased to present the 2022 issue of Litteratus, the literary journal of the Morehouse College Howard Thurman Honors Program. Although the production of this journal is a part of the longstanding tradition of creative thought at Morehouse College, this issue reflects a zeitgeist and shift in consciousness. The thematic explorations of these literary artists depict the second decade of the twenty-first century in which they have negotiated the dual pandemic of racism and the coronavirus plague, all while exploring academics and aspects of their identity and emotional terrain. These students are to be commended for their talent, commitment, and bravery.

I am reminded of the fabled blind elder woman in Toni Morrison’s Nobel Lecture whom youth attempt to intimidate by asking if the bird in their hand is alive or dead. In her wisdom, she metaphorically relates the bird to language to conclude the only known truth -- that whether the bird is alive or dead, it [language] is in their hands. While I am blindly unaware and did not see this day coming, I am willing to believe in these students and to affirm that this language of their lives is in their hands, alive and well, and free as a bird in flight.

Enjoy!

Leah Creque, Ph.D.