Quarto Staff Profile: Amanda Ong

Illustration by Sophie Levy

Year: Senior

Major/College: Creative Writing & Ethnicity and Race Studies, Columbia College

Where are you from?

I was born in Hong Kong, moved around a bit, but mostly I’m from Southern California!

What do you love about Quarto?

Kent 511, random baked goods (usually from Gisela), funny misinterpretations, and of course, the COMMUNITY! Quarto is such a loving, beautiful group of mostly INFP and INFJs. Go figure. 

What inspires you to do the work we do?

Giving a platform to art and writing that needs to be heard :) Looking at spring print once it’s done, knowing how it felt to be published once myself in Quarto alongside beautiful art and writing and wanting to give that feeling to other people.

Do you have any pets?

Yes! Cali and Gwen (short for Excalibur and Guinevere, my sister was going through a King Arthur phase). They’re so, so old, they’re sisters, and they are the LIGHTS of my life. 

Where can we find you in your free time (a lazy Monday afternoon, a cozy Sunday morning)?

On Sunday mornings, at the farmer’s market by Columbia, then cooking (my roommate has walked in on me and a crispy pan-fried duck breast more than once). Sometimes at museums with friends, or cafes, journaling, a lot of the time by myself taking naps and drinking tea. 

What else are you involved in/what are your other interests?

Writing my own stories, Asian American Alliance, social justice, oral history, cooking, having a cookie competition with a four-round bracket to find the single best chocolate chip cookie recipe to exist. Yes, post cookie-fugue state, there was a winner.

Favorite author/artist/work?

I would marry Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer, would give my life to share cake and tea with Maira Kalman, could spend my life watching Princess Mononoke, and Harold and Maude on loop, and if there were only two books on my bedside table for the rest of my life they would be Kafka on the Shore by Murakami and Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

What else should we know about you?

I love Batman comics (or any graphic novels), Tillie Walden, Steven Universe, Whitney Houston. I make the best homemade dumplings of any college student I know and will make them for you at any time. Also, right now my thesis is my life. Ask me about it or take a look here! 

Quarto Staff Profile: Gisela Levy

Illustration by Cameron Lee

Year - Junior

Major/College - East Asian Studies, CC

Where are you from?

I’m from Brazil and DC.

Do you have any pets?

I have two wonderful dogs. Smokey is a puppy and needs you to give him a treat, now. Benny is a multilingual human man trapped in the body of a miniature schnauzer.

What do you love about Quarto?

 I love Quarto because every week I work with people who inspire me and change my mind and laugh at my jokes, that’s the dream.

What inspires you to do the work we do?

I am inspired to do the work that we do because our submissions are often so beautiful, that I feel proud to publish and illustrate them.

Where can we find you in your free time (a lazy Monday afternoon, a cozy Sunday morning?)

In my free time I am on a walk or in my room, either watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer or listening to Buffering the Vampire Slayer.

What else are you involved in/what are your other interests?

I am an intern in the Asian art department at the Met. Love it, dream job.

What am I reading/watching/listening to?

Anything Sophie Levy recommends.

What else should we know about you?

You should know that I want you to send your work to Quarto (especially you, visual artists!!) and next year apply to be on Quarto’s staff!

Quarto Staff Profile: Kayla LeGrand

Illustration by Sophie Levy

Name: Kayla LeGrand

Year: Sophomore

Major: Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Where are you from?

Farmington, Maine

What do you love about Quarto?

I love the strength of Quarto's community! Everyone is so welcoming and treats each other like family.

What inspires you to do the work we do?

What really drives me is the desire to amplify voices that aren't seen or prioritized in the literary community.

Do you have any pets?

I have 3 cats and a dog! Smidge, Mocha, Theo, and Uber :-)

Where can we find you in your free time (a lazy Monday afternoon, a cozy Sunday morning)?

On a quiet Friday morning, you can find me at the gym, devouring brunch with my friends, or making numerous to-do lists that I never actually complete.

What else are you involved in/what are your other interests?

I really love dancing! I have been taking Modern dance classes for fun and I would highly recommend it! I am also on the Columbia Women's Club Soccer team (it's our first year!) and an advising fellow for Matriculate.

Favorite author/artist/work?

It is really hard to choose a favorite, but a book I can read over and over again without getting tired of it would probably be The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.

What else should we know about you?

I have a really good memory!

Staying Afloat During Hard Times by The Quarto Staff

Illustration by Mita Sharma

In this difficult and tragic time, we at Quarto have been thinking through so much: how to build community, how to use our voice, how to create, and also simply (but not so simply), how to keep moving. We collected responses from our staff on how we each are trying to find joy and take care of ourselves these days. Many of us are enjoying the outdoors and walks in sunlight, staying connected with friends, and caring for our bodies. We hope you take something away from this and remember that there is no one way to deal with what is going on. Be gentle to yourself and take it day by day. We will get through this.

What is a source of joy for you right now?

• Video calling my friends and playing my guitar!

• A source of joy for me is dancing. I put on some upbeat songs and just let go! Some of my favorite danceable songs include Like That by Doja Cat and Cloud 9 by Beach Bunny.

• Zooming through books and films

• Long walks! Spring is here :)

• Writing emails to friends, putting in place stabilizing rituals like calling my partner more, following the same Chinese singing show with a friend every night, taking walks by myself around campus (or to Riverside Park), and seeing the flowers in bloom. The sunlight is also almost always a source of joy.

• Playing with my dogs has been a source of joy and a huge plus of being home. I’ve also enjoyed taking self care time in a way I feel I can’t at school.

• Lighting a candle in my room at 3 a.m. and staying up til sunrise. Also, learning to play piano again.

• I'm going for runs every day around my block. Getting back into running consistently has been helping me with managing anxiety. I live in Texas and the sweltering heat has been pleasurable surprisingly (it's consistently in the 80s these days)—the sun is just so pretty and I enjoy feeling it shine on my skin. I'm also enjoying mornings a lot. I drink a cup of warm coffee and stare outside of a window for a little bit and sit in silence. Also, honestly my bed has been a big source of joy. Like pillows? Warm covers? Wow. Rest is so lovely.

How are you taking care of yourself right now?

• Sleeping in a lot!

• I am taking care of myself by letting myself feel and release all emotions that arise in me. This includes crying, which is an extremely cathartic release. Also, those post-cry naps feel pretty great too.

• Exercising and going on walks with my parents.

• I have a list of things I try and do everyday, reading time, stretching, new projects, some exercise, and plenty of sleep.

• Putting my phone on airplane mode and tossing it out of reach, reading sci-fi and fantasy as a source of escape, reducing interactions with screens as much as possible (very hard!).

• I try to go on a walk each morning to get myself out of the house and put myself in a different headspace. When I can’t go outside (it’s been snowing!) I try to do something to get my body moving, like dancing or rearranging my room. I’ve also been really persistent about trying to give myself a break. I didn’t realize how much more time I seemed to have on campus, and I’m trying to stop myself from comparing my habits in NYC and my habits at home.

• Being gentle with myself when I don't finish as much as I want to or am not as far into things that are pressing and due. Things have been taking me twice as long to do these days. And I'm trying to remember that's okay. So, I'm making smaller to-do lists and remembering that my best right now is enough.

• Whipped cream on toast, but like, not every morning.

• I try to not look at my phone before bed, and I also hid Instagram on my phone so I’m not too tempted to look at it. It’s difficult to see everyone talking about COVID all the time, and I try to mix it up with unrelated media, like old podcasts.

• Like many others, I'm back in my childhood bedroom, and moving furniture around/cleaning out my junk from middle and high school has helped make it a space that I feel better about spending lots of time in. I'm also doing my best to go for a walk every day, just to move my body and leave my room for a bit (make sure to put on sunscreen before you go out!). Chatting briefly with neighbors, seeing flowers bloom, and waving at dogs reminds me that I'm not alone in these feelings of confusion and distress.

What book/tv show/movie/song/any other source of entertainment are you enjoying?

• I’ve been listening to a lot of newly released music lately! Think includes: Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia, Childish Gambino’s 3.15.20, and The Weeknd’s After Hours. Favorite song right now is Switchblade by NIKI.

• Show: Drake & Josh—it was just added on Hulu and brings back a lot of good memories! Movie: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse—cried happy tears when watching this. Book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi—a beautiful novel about family and remembering. Song: not necessarily a song, but anything by duendita—her voice is so soothing.

• I’m currently rewatching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel with my mother; it’s nice to imagine being an affluent white woman in 1950s New York every once in a while. I’m currently in a reading slump, and it feels a bit like my powers are failing me in a moment of need. I’m trying to to beat myself up about it, though, and I think I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve started reading Stephen King’s On Writing—if I’m not gonna spend any of my time writing, at least I can read about it. The Twilight soundtrack may single-handedly get me through this dark time.

• Daily Battles (song), Ozark (tv show), Eyes Wide Shut (film), and Dune (book).

• I just read The Kite Runner for the first time! It was beautiful and a far overdue read. Steven Universe, both the show and its soundtrack, are also an endless source of hope for me in sad times. My sister is also making me watched all of the bad late 90s, early 2000s movies of her childhood that I missed.

• I absolutely loved Tender by Sofia Samatar. such brilliance and a graceful, imaginative grasp of linguistic possibilities. i also really enjoyed Who Killed My Father by Edouard Louis and A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson. I've been consuming a lot of sci-fi and fantasy. I am also enjoying the series 声入人心 (Super-Vocal), which features 36 classically trained male singers. it's super communal and wholesome because no one gets eliminated! I've already rewatched the movie Portrait of a Lady on Fire twice, it's become one of my favorite movies of all time. i'm organizing a watch party with a friend this weekend.

• I’ve been listening to playlists on Spotify made by friends and family. I think I’m going to come out of this time knowing them a bit better and having found new stuff to listen to! I’ve also been on Pinterest a lot. Pinterest is better than instagram right now because you can control what you see. I’ve just been designing dream homes!

• Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (parts 4 & 5 were amazing)

• I’ve been watching a lot of Brooklyn Nine-Nine—hits the nail on what I need: something lighthearted and funny and heartwarming. Because of said show, I discovered Andy Samberg is married to renowned harpist and singer, Joanna Newsom, and now I’ve become obsessed with her music in every way. Sapokanikan is my favorite song by her and I’m just listening to her albums, “Divers”, “The Milk-Eyed Mender”, and “Ys” on repeat. They make me feel lighter? Happy? I’m finally trying to finish Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami.

• I'm watching the current season of How to Get Away with Murder, and it's highly entertaining! I've also been catching up on Pose, which I really recommend - it's wonderful and emotional. For these last few weeks I've been listening to Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton, Intentions by Justin Bieber, and X Ambassadors' new EP on repeat, as well as old Florence + the Machine, The Teskey Brothers, FKA Twigs, and Childish Gambino and Dua Lipa's new albums!!

Quarto Staff Profile: Nick Gauthier

Illustration by Cameron Lee

Name: Nicholas Gauthier

Year: CC ’21

Major/College: Philosophy and Psychology, Columbia College

Position on Quarto: Co-Editor-in-Chief

Where are you from? Glen Mills, Pennsylvania

What do you love about Quarto?

I genuinely love the fact that I get to read the writing of so many talented Columbia writers, including those whose writing we never publish. 

What inspires you to do the work we do?

I am inspired by the editing staff. Coming into meeting and collectively doing “roses and thorns” always grounds me and inspires me to do the work that we do for the Columbia Community—the very people that are a part of Quarto. 

Do you have any pets?

I don’t have any pets.

Where can we find you in your free time (a lazy Monday afternoon, a cozy Sunday morning?)

You can find me in Max Caffe, Hungarian Pastry Shop, or this place called Blue Stripes Cacao Shop downtown.

What else are you involved in/what are your other interests?

On campus, I am involved in the Gadfly (our Undergraduate Philosophy Magazine) and Alianza (our pan-Latinx club). Outside of clubs, my other interests can pretty much be summed up by philosophy and film. In my spare time, it’s very likely I am watching a movie, reading philosophy, or writing (in some capacity related to philosophy). 

Favorite author/artist/work?

*Disclaimer: I absolutely despise questions about favorites!!! BUT Favorite Author: Aldous Huxley (as of reading Brave New World this summer); Favorite Artist: Christopher Nolan (director); Favorite Work: Sorry to Bother You (film)

What else should we know about you?

You should know that I never saw myself as an anime person and then I watched Death Note and… that was the end of me not being an anime person (although the last half of the show was really disappointing).

Quarto Staff Profile: Mita Sharma

Illustration by Cameron Lee

Name: Mita Sharma

Year: Sophomore

Major/College: Columbia College, English major with a special concentration in Sustainable Development

Position on Quarto: Head of Art & Design

 Where are you from?

St. Louis, Missouri! And I will never let you forget about it. 

What do you love about Quarto?

There’s so much I love about Quarto! The radiant staff members I get to see each week, the innovative and inspiring work we get to review, and the process of collaborating with such talented and kind humans to hold space for the creative arts around campus. 

What inspires you to do the work we do?

I hold firm to the belief that art—whether it be visual, literary, or beyond—is such a revolutionary and connective force. It’s helped me heal, inspired me to seek justice, and exposed me to so much magic in the world. It’s so important for emerging artists, including myself, to have spaces where we can feel supported, seen, and uplifted. It’s an honor to help cultivate that space and share the amazing work of these artists with the Barnumbia community and beyond. 

Do you have any pets?

Yes! The love of my life is my 10 year old yellow lab named Teddy. He loves car rides, foraging on hikes, and stuffed animals. At school, I also have four wonderful plant children. They are spending the rest of the semester with a dear friend in NYC. 

Where can we find you in your free time (a lazy Monday afternoon, a cozy Sunday morning?)

If it’s a warm and sunny day, I’m probably napping in the sun or taking a stroll. If it’s rainy and cold, I’m probably watching copious amounts of Tiny Desk Concerts and Bon Appetit in my room or working on some of my own poetry.  

What else are you involved in/what are your other interests?

I spent eleven years training in classical Indian dance and have recently started working on integrating that with yoga and other forms of somatic expression. I also am an avid gardener and super passionate about regenerative agriculture and all things veggies. 

Favorite author/artist/work?

Oh, that’s so tough! There’s so much out there to love, from experimental works to classics. I’ll name some writers that are helping me through these insanely tumultuous times: Pablo Neruda, Juliana Spahr, Aracelis Girmay, Audre Lorde, Myung Mi Kim, Mary Oliver—just to name a few. 

What else should we know about you? 

I think earthworms are some of the most beautiful things on this planet. The moon makes me cry. I spend too much time listening to music. I drink more tea than water. I scored 100% Feeling instead of Thinking on the Myers-Briggs personality test. That’s about it, folks. 

Quarto Staff Profile: Cameron Lee

As a part of a new installment on our blog, we at Quarto are excited to share these profiles of our current staff members. Get to know Quarto, our staff, and what we’re passionate about as we each share a bit about ourselves!

Illustration by Sophie Levy

Name: Cameron Lee

Year: Columbia College, Class of 2020.

Major/College: I’m majoring in Creative Writing (fiction) and concentrating in Visual Art. 

Position on Quarto: Art and Design Editor

Where are you from?

I’m from a town called Silver Spring, MD, just outside Washington, D.C. 

What do you love about Quarto?

What don’t I love about Quarto? This organization has shaped my Columbia experience, and I would not be the person I am today had my orientation leader and former Co-EIC of the magazine (hi Alison!) not convinced me to attend Quarto’s September information session and see what it was all about. Being a part of Quarto has deeply influenced how I approach discussions about literature and art, and it has forever changed the way I read and write. Most of all, it is the people on Quarto that I love. All the members of Quarto’s staff are brilliant, talented, warm, incredible individuals, and I’ve learned so much from each and every one of them.

What inspires you to do the work we do?

So much! Maybe too much to put into words! I highly value the safe and welcoming space Quarto gives student writers to be brave and share their work with the world, because it’s terrifying to create something and then give it away to be judged. It is also so important to me that Quarto strives to bolster the literary and artistic community on campus. I know first hand that writing and creating art can be difficult and lonely, and the readings, panels, and events we put together are invaluable spaces for creatives to find, learn from, and lean on each other. 

Do you have any pets?

Do plants count? If so, yes! Many. 

Where can we find you in your free time (a lazy Monday afternoon, a cozy Sunday morning?)

Sunny weekend mornings are my favorite time to create art, so on a cozy Sunday, you’d most likely find me at my desk or the kitchen table, drawing or painting or doing something creative. There’s almost always coffee involved, and some soulful tunes. If I’m not doing art, I could probably be found reading a novel for one of my fiction classes, or working on a short story submission. In true free time, like during breaks from school, I mostly try to catch up on all the shows I’m constantly behind on and bake muffins with whatever fruit is in my fridge!

What else are you involved in/what are your other interests?

Writing and art are my main interests, and they happen to be both my primary hobbies and what I’m studying. I also love watching TV, reading, and listening to music, and I am always taking recommendations for new shows, books, and artists. Please send me some! 

Favorite author/artist/work?

I could never choose a true favorite, but some of my favorite authors at the moment are James Baldwin, Carmen Maria Machado, and Jeff VanderMeer. Similarly, I love Kerry James Marshall, Frida Kahlo, and David Hockney, among many, many other artists. 

What else should we know about you?

I’m not sure! I like collecting rocks. I’ve been watching The X-Files for six years and I’m only halfway through. I want to learn to read tarot cards. I could go for some mac & cheese right now. I have an art Instagram @artcameronangela that I use irregularly. Also add me on Goodreads @cameronangela and send me book recs. Please! I really mean it.

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Dreams by Gisela Levy

Illustration by Gisela Levy

I just opened my purse to clean out the pockets and I found a slip of paper that said “LIFE COULD BE A DREAM.” I know I must have left it for myself to find, but artificially created mysteries are just as healthy as non-GMO ones.

If you know me, you know I love dreaming, and I’ve probably told you about the dream I had last night. My favorite things about dreams are: 1. They predict the future. 2. They recycle the past. 3. That means they are about all time, at once. 4. I don’t mean to make this sound too grand. 5. They are also funny.

What do I mean they predict the future? I mean that earlier this week I had a dream where I went to a three-story authentic patisserie on Fifth Ave, overfilled a paper bag with fifteen pastries and walked out of the store without paying. When I’d realized what I’d done, I got stressed about stealing and went back to wait in line and pay, but I was so anxious that I ate all the pastries. When I got to the counter, I had nothing to pay for and was ushered out with a free sample. Today, I’ve eaten three chocolate croissants.

What do I mean they recycle the past? I mean that earlier this month I had a dream where I was in an airport bathroom coming back from China, and Bill Clinton was leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette, Hillary Clinton was looking at me in the mirror, aggressively judgmental, and Madeline Albright wanted my help making instant ramen.

That means dreams are about all time, at once. Every dream I’ve had is a real life, and when that Gisela falls asleep after her crazy trip to the patisserie or when she gets back from the airport, she dreams she’s writing a blog post for a literary magazine. Sometimes we dream our own futures too, and when you walk into a building for the first time and feel the light breaking in from the tall western windows, how the glow warms your shoulders, and you intuit where the stairs are, you know that you’ve been there before. Try to wrap your head around that.

I don’t think I gain anything from believing this. It doesn’t give the universe a higher order or power, and I think it might encourage chaos. But it’s so easy to. It’s just a choice, with immediate results, and it’s free. It makes life whimsical, it makes sleep exhilarating, it makes waking up an opportunity to remember. It means I always have a story to tell. And it costs me nothing to believe. Making this choice reminds me that I still have space in the world, uncontested and indefinable space, in which to assert my preferences and intuitions and creations and fears and well, my dreams. There are still some choices which are free.

But dreams are also funny. I had this dream once where I was cornered by the secret agents of my political rivals, terrifying men in suits, ready to kill, except when you looked right at them you could see what they actually were. Three-foot-wide beef meatballs, hunky, chunky, threatening, and still in sunglasses.

Gisela Levy is an Art and Design editor, and a junior EALAC major. She enjoys lying supine and thinking beautiful thoughts. Sometimes she shares them.

On Language as Healing by Mitali Khanna Sharma

Illustration by Mitali Khanna Sharma

I am thinking of cataclysm today. Violent overturnings—of justice, of peace, of literal earth. As I sit in the cradle of the United States, the Midwest, fires cover an entire continent ten thousand miles away. After reading the news about fleeing families, screeching wildlife, and breaking earth, I realized that despite being so physically separate from the trauma that Australians are faced with, I am still connected to this trauma by liability. My choices, my money, the society to which I contribute have fueled these flames. This realization, of coexistent separation and culpability, left me feeling completely helpless as a writer. I could only remember the power of language being to attack, criticize, and elicit change through a form of rupture; I doubted language’s ability to heal matter, both physical and metaphysical, which has already ruptured.

Yet, here I am, writing this, to say that these doubts, as most are, are far from true. At the beginning of the school year, Anelise Chen issued a statement as she took on the role of Interim Director of Undergraduate Creative Writing Studies. She said, “Undeniably, we are living in times full of pressing and dire issues. As writers, we know that there is no medium more powerful than the word to bring people together or push people away. It is up to us, now, to discover how we might wield this power. How might words be mobilized to transmit our beliefs, or cast light in darkness, or tell a more nuanced story, or share in another's suffering? Let us go forward with a commitment to empower one another and aspire toward learning that is both generative and inspiring.” 

As Chen said, writing not only has the power to push away, but it also has the power to pull together. Language, as the medium of communication, is the ultimate connector. It not only transmits messages from one being to another, but also transmits feelings, visions, and spirit—connecting us to each other, to the world, and to our core values through bonds that are, to quote Audre Lorde, not surface, but deep. This deep connection is the antidote of rupture: it is language’s power to heal. 

And healing the broken matter of the earth means healing our connection with it—shifting an anthropocentric view point by seeing our own spirits, our souls, our identities woven into the fabric of plants, animals, soil, and oceans. It means allowing ourselves to empathize with the planet and grieve for its loss and wounds. Such connection is what will elicit impassioned change, heal our own ecological anxiety, and contribute to the literal healing of a breaking earth. 

In fact, this role of language in healing the earth has been verified by scientists. Recent scholarship has found that linguistic diversity is positively correlated with biodiversity. Scholars propose that the reason for this correlation is due to reverence and connection to the natural world: The cultures that have been preserving linguistic diversity and biological diversity for ages tend to be cultures that do not see themselves as separate from the ecosystems in which they live. Language is thus inextricably linked to building a connection with landscape—and connection to a landscape is thus inextricably linked to conserving that landscape. 

As emerging poets, authors, and editors, coming into these times of cataclysm, we have a responsibility to not only preserve and uplift dwindling linguistic diversity, but also use our own linguistic creations as a healing force of connection for our earth and the beings on it. With this task at hand, I find myself shedding the feeling of helplessness and emerging into a sense of empowerment and hope. I hope you do too.

Mitali Khanna Sharma is Quarto’s Head of Design. She is passionate about socio-environmental justice and finds immense joy in earthworms and moonlight. This is her second year on staff.

Quarto Staff’s 2019 Winter Reading List

Illustration by Charlie Blodnieks and Mita Sharma

Every winter, right before we leave for break, the Quarto Staff has a holiday book exchange. We swap books that we already love, in hopes of finding new books that we will love. Here are all of the wonderful books we swapped! We hope you find an interesting title on here that you can read and enjoy over break.

1. The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu 

2. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

3. The Leavers by Lisa Ko

4. Demian by Hermann Hesse 

5. Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

6. Night Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong 

7. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

8. The lais of Marie de France

9. Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko 

10. The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions by Larry Mitchell

11. Zong! by M. NourbSe Philip

12. Cleaning Up New York by Bob Rosenthal

13. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

14. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh 

15. I’m Supposed to Protect You from All This by Nadja Spiegelman

16. Cane by Jean Toomer

17. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri 

18. Lot by Bryan Washington 

19. Lies My Teacher Told Me by James L. Loewen

20. Saga by Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

21. Not Here by Hieu Minh Nguyen

Quarto Staff’s 2019 Fall Reading List

The leaves are changing colors, the air is brisk, and snow will soon fall: What feels better in autumn than to curl up with a blanket and a good book? This fall, Quarto’s here with our favorite fall reads to supplement your reading habits. Take a peek here and find books from our staff for every different genre-lover. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Happy autumn, and stay warm folks!

• The Overstory by Richard Powers

• How to Be a Person in the World by Heather Havrilesky

• Feeld by Jos Charles

• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

• Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

• Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

• The Vegetarian by Han Kang

• All About Love by bell hooks

• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

• Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow

• The Final Voicemails by Max Ritvo

• Exposure by Robert Bilott

• Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

• Fly Already by Etgar Keret

• Grand Union by Zadie Smith

• The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

• I’m Supposed to Protect You from All This by Nadja Spiegelman

Illustration by Gisela Levy

Must-Read Chapbooks by The Quarto Staff

As the submission deadline for our annual chapbook competition approaches this Friday, the Quarto Staff has compiled a list of our favorite chapbooks to inspire you all to bust out your best chapbooks and submit! We are beyond excited to read your submissions and design a chapbook, so keep a look-out for our winner and our chapbook launch party in a few weeks, too. But most importantly, don’t forget to SUBMIT your chapbooks by this Friday! The deadline is 11:59 p.m.

• The January Children by Safia Elhillo 

• Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith

• Night Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong 

• The Final Voicemails by Max Ritvo 

• The Specimen’s Apology by George Abraham

• Portrait of the Alcoholic by Kaveh Akbar 

• There Should Be Flowers by Joshua Jennifer Espinoza

• Not Here by Hieu Minh Nguyen 

• Look by Solmaz Sharif 

Illustration by Gisela Levy

Collections, Objects, Memory by Catherine Valdez

Illustration by Gisela Levy

As my last semester at Columbia comes to a close and senior-move-out nears, I am thinking of all the things I must pack up. Things that have occupied my room for the last few years, that have become inseparable from my concept of a safe place. Books; paintings; reams of fabric that have leaned against my wall and slowly been replaced as projects come and go; the winter sweaters laid over my desk chair that’ll lose their purpose as I move back home; a second-hand teal cabinet full of India-inks, markers, embroidery floss and other art supplies I use with less frequency as assignments pile up; a windowsill and suite filled with stuffed animals my suitemates and I have ascribed elaborate, sometimes hilarious or inappropriate personalities to; a door covered in doodles, quotes and sticky-notes; a dachshund-patterned box I’ve been throwing loose buttons and pins in since perpetuity; a small herd of plants that have sadly (mostly) died under my friends’ collective care. The list goes on. My love for things (and what they become as they age with you) cannot be contained by a list.

Mostly because I was curious, I made this post about collections and things. I asked Quarto staff what objects they’ve accumulated and why these things have become important to them:      

• While this collection is somewhat intangible, the songs and playlists I have accumulated this year have made my Columbia experience incredibly meaningful. I always have associated songs with people, places, and periods within my life, and I have realized even more so in college how important this sort of 'collection' has been for me. When I listen to certain artists, I am immediately transported to special memories with friends.

• I have notes written by friends, ticket stubs and cards. I am very sentimental so I like keeping stuff like that. The clothes I have accumulated since moving here are evidence of my changing style and how NYC has affected me. :)

• A clay pig made by one of my friends, a Chinese Horoscope book, and flowers :) They all represent some of my most cherished friendships.

• I am the type of person who accumulates lots of things, from tickets and brochures I can’t bring myself to throw away to fancy soda bottles and dried flowers and cute, otherwise useless doodads. Some of the objects I’ve come to value most, however, are the art pieces that live on my wall. Some prints have been up since my first year at Columbia, poorly stuck to the walls of my John Jay single, and will be with me all the way through my senior year. Others, I have picked up along the way, at book fairs and art festivals, at the MET (I try to buy a postcard every time I go) and the Brooklyn Museum. Some have been given to me as gifts, and others I bought myself on a whim, looking to add a splash of color to my white walls. All this art makes my tiny room feel much more like a home, and it is comforting to look at my collection every day and remember the stories behind each piece.

• Lots of pictures (polaroids and physical pictures people have given me) which remind me of all the memories and relationships I've formed. I also have free branded Columbia T-Shirts which often reminds me that Columbia is a prominent capitalist force and is not so slyly preparing us for corporate life. I own snow clothes/gear (?!) which is wild, as I've lived in the South my entire life. I've also collected more books than I can count, and that represents all the incredible perspectives I've been fortunate enough to interact with here. I've also collected train tickets because I had never gone on a train before coming here–tickets to Connecticut, New Jersey, etc.

• Every year I seem to accumulate an exorbitant number of postcards. Though I don't send nearly as many as I intend to, I love the idea of them, the blend of art and correspondence. There's something romantic to the whole process, at least to me. They're also a great record of where I've been, and where I hope to go.

Catherine has been a staff editor on Quarto for the past four years. This is her first blog post. Check out her Senior Spotlight on our social media in the days to come!

Books that Make Us Nostalgic by TJ Gill

Illustration by Dora O’Neill & Charlie Blodnieks

This list is composed of books, which broached a sense of childhood nostalgia within the members of our staff. I wanted to discuss this topic in this week’s blog post because a few weeks ago, I was thinking about The Perks of Being a Wallflower—a poignant coming of age story that meant a lot to me in high school. This moment then brought on a sense of curiosity as to what types of books other members of the staff associated with their adolescence and childhood.

• A Bad Case of Stripes

• The Mysterious Benedict Society, poems by Shel Silverstein, Goodnight Moon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar

• Bridge to Terabithia, Where the Red Fern Grows, Ella Enchanted, The Golden Compass

• Goodnight Moon, Love You Forever, The Giving Tree, Junie B Jones Series, Geronimo Stilton Series, Madeline

• The House on Mango Street, anything by Roald Dahl or Lois Lowry

• Magic Treehouse, the Molly Moon series, Harry Potter, Hunger Games

• The Westing Game, Harry Potter, Harriet the Spy, Goosebumps

• Fantasy books of all kinds really take me back, whether they are chapter books I read in elementary school or YA novels about dragons or quests. The Magic Treehouse, Secrets of Droon, The Golden Compass, Eragon. Roald Dahl’s entire canon. Harry Potter always invokes in me a deep, visceral sense of nostalgia that will most definitely stay with me for the rest of my life. I also feel so much nostalgia for the books whose titles I don’t remember, that I read and loved and then put down and never saw again. Those were the books that completely immersed and sustained me for a few hours, and back then that was all I needed from a reading experience.

Liberal Arts and Self-worth by Jane Paknia

Illustration by Charlie Blodnieks

In three weeks, I will have finished my first year as a college student. There are many significant differences between my understanding of myself now and that understanding just one year ago, as I finalized my college decisions and considered my place in this world.

The toughest one to confront is that I arrived at school with the confidence of someone that doesn’t know how little they know, and now... I do. It’s a fascinating concept that I and many students with the privilege to pursue a higher education can attest to called the Dunning-Kruger effect:

Courtesy of The Decision Lab

Before I came to college I was at peak confidence. Four core classes later, after a year-long staff editorship at Quarto, participation in a Columbia jazz combo, after endless conversations that could start with “Do we even have original thoughts?” or “What are we doing here?” I find it far more difficult now to muster up the self-confidence it takes to create, even though I feel like I know so much more than I did a year ago.

This critical experience of self-actualization is daunting, and I know it is not singular to me. As someone who enjoys and values creativity (a writer and musician), the endless questioning and the consistent reminders of time passing can feel overwhelming.

The more you think about how little you know and how much the world has to offer that you’re missing out on, it can feel like you’re just throwing yourself further down a rabbit hole, further from the originality and innovativeness it takes to be creative or inspired. But I, along with my Quarto colleagues, have some ways of nurturing self-confidence as opposed to doubt, to make the process of self-discovery and interest-finding something invigorating instead of something that is anxiety inducing.

1.) Speaking to loved ones–these are the people who know you for who you are, and whose understanding or even slight words of reassurance can change your entire perspective, remind you of yourself.

2.) Speaking to professors and figures you look up to–professors on campus are an underutilized resource! When you’re experiencing anxiety or confusion about picking courses of study or envisioning a path for yourself, why not consult the scholars who make us question our place in the world?

3.) Reminding yourself of what you enjoy–this one is more difficult than it sounds. Try making a list of things that have made you laugh/smile/want to create and encourage yourself to do those things more often. People on Quarto enjoy drinking tea, making art, spending time with friends, watching TV, reading the newspaper, listening to podcasts, writing freely (with no other motive), and doing yoga as pleasant ways to spend free time.

4.) Reflecting on how little you need to have figured out by now–think of the diverse paths that other successful, admirable people have taken and the struggles they faced. College isn’t a race, and neither is your life afterwards. Work within your own time zone, your own spirit, your own flow.

5.) Enjoy your small successes–this is crucial! As Neeraj said in his recent blog post, “Birthdays and Getting Older,” it’s very difficult to live your life without future you in mind. Try breathing, taking life day by day, setting small goals as opposed to colossal ones, and appreciating your successes as they come.

Everyone I’ve met at college, whether through classes, extracurriculars, or outside the school environment completely, has had something they deserve to be proud of, a story that only they can tell, a voice to be heard. I sincerely hope that all of us, embarking on this confusing, strange, and unique journey, can discover just what it is that they deserve to be confident about.

Jane Paknia is a staff editor on Quarto. This is her first blog post.

The right time to write: How Quarto members make time for writing by Tamarah Wallace

Illustration by Gisela Levy

Upon arriving at college, I was immediately overwhelmed by the new sense of freedom and the accompanying onslaught of engagements. Writing for me had always turned into a lengthy affair, similar to binge watching a show, where it became difficult to find any suitable stopping place. Since I felt that I had to carve out hours and hours at a minimum for this activity, I would neglect to put it on my schedule, and sometimes wouldn’t even be in the mindset to write during the time I scheduled.

However, I have realized that writing is a vital part of my life and making time for it doesn’t have to feel intrusive. I find that when the urge strikes it’s best to just commence writing right then. If there is a deadline that you must meet for schoolwork or otherwise, definitely don’t dismiss it and complete your work. But if not, write and then plan the rest of your engagements around the time that you have lost. Set a maximum writing time for the week and each time that you write, no matter for how long, subtract the time from that quota.

Thus, you will have a spontaneous writing schedule that keeps you from also getting carried away!


Here are other ways Quarto kids make time for writing:

“Since I primarily write nonfiction, I find it very easy to integrate into my schedule as a self-care exercise, akin to journaling. That being said, time definitely gets away from me. So, I like to allocate time in my schedule (usually on weekends) to get away from campus on my own and I always bring my notebook with me! I usually end up writing during this time.”

“On some days, I actually schedule it into my day and plan for it. Other days, the creative energy is just bursting out of me and I put everything on hold to write the piece. I think making time means priorities, and we just need to start looking at creative projects as important and essential to our human experience.”

“I go somewhere with no internet like Hungarian with the intention of writing. The tone of a place really influences my productivity!”

“I either decide to commit when I have an idea and flesh it out in that moment, or other times, I dedicate an afternoon in a coffee shop or something.”

“I try to write things down as they come to me, even if it's just a word or an idea. I often find myself thinking ‘I don't need to write that down, I'll remember it’ and then realizing that I've lost that idea when I finally sit down to write it out. Similarly, I try to make time for writing when the mood strikes, because I produce better work when I'm in the mindset of ‘I'm going to create something.’”

“Even though I’m a creative writing major, I find it incredibly difficult to make time for writing in my free time. I tend to write more when under pressure, so I am glad to have been in a workshop both semesters this year, and to have to take two more before I graduate. It is still sometimes difficult to get myself to sit down and write for my workshops, however, but I try to eliminate all distractions and go someplace private and quiet. I’ve noticed that I write worse when there are people around or I feel watched, so I do what I can to create the best environment for me. I’ve also learned to be less stringent about how I approach a story, so I skip around a lot, get rid of things I’ve already written, and prioritize getting words down on page the first time around rather than spending too much time trying to make everything perfect.”

Tamarah Wallace is a staff editor on Quarto. This is her first blog post.

Birthdays and Getting Older by Neeraj Ramachandran

        After my twentieth birthday last summer, I was able to put my finger on a sensation that had been bothering me for quite some time. It was the feeling that each new year I was adding to my life was more insignificant than the last. From 2016 to 2019, I have been in the same place, doing the same thing, and planning on continuing to do so at least until 2020. Very little seems to have changed.

        I found that I could account for this feeling by a surprisingly dry truth about numbers. If you take the years you have lived and add another year, each new year you add will increase the years you have lived by a smaller proportion than did the one before it. Turning two means doubling the years you have lived. Turning twenty means adding only a small fraction. As it turns out, each year of my life is literally less significant than the one that came before.

Illustration by Sophie Levy

Once I had a concrete explanation for this emotion I was feeling, I couldn’t help but see this as a confirmation for how I felt about the past. It explained why I had such extreme memories of the apartment complex I lived in until I was three years old. The community pool was massive (big enough to almost drown in), the monkey bars could never be reached, the ten year old neighbors were full-grown adults. When my family drove through the complex on a whim about a year back, I could not recognize one piece of it. It felt tiny and insular. I resolved in that moment to never forget the version of the neighborhood I had in my head, because I knew that there is no place in the world where that version still exists.

        This way of thinking is dizzying and self-reinforcing. It has become extremely easy for me to convince myself that clinging wistfully to my past is a product of an objective truth: that our life becomes longer in length each year, that we have more to remember, and that we get older. And in that conviction, I enable myself to see the world with a complacent sort of nostalgia, one in which I continue to reject the present only until it is something I can look back on, at which point I hold on to it fiercely. Until now, I have seen this almost as a merit, as the ability to evoke places or impressions in my memory and to appreciate their beauty in retrospect. But I’ve come to realize—and now truly believe—that this viewpoint can be dangerous. It can teach us to distort the way we experience the world by waiting for something to be behind us before we are allowed to appreciate it.

        I encourage those who read this, as well as myself, to not take this as an imperative to focus more on living in the present. We have all heard this advice countless times, and we know for a fact that it is not always possible to heed it. How we can we deny that we might derive pleasure from seeing the world through a backward-facing lens, even if doing so is self-destructive? After all, certain places and people from our lives can now only exist in memory. Instead, I encourage us to color some of our foresight with the richness and precision of our hindsight. In ten years, there’s a good chance that the mundanity and normalcy of our current lives will be a beautiful memory in our head. Why wait ten years? Maybe what our ten-year-older self sees in it, we have the ability to see right now.

Neeraj Ramachandran is currently a staff editor for Quarto. This is his first blog post.

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint by The Quarto Staff

Here at Quarto, we’re always having conversations about how to be better humans and how to help the Earth that suffers at the hands of so many human and corporate forces. Below is a list of the ways our editors reduce their carbon footprints in their daily lives in order to be more environmentally friendly:

We want to know what our readers do to be more environmentally friendly as well. Please write to us @columbiaquarto on Insta & Twitter!

Illustration by Charlie Blodnieks

• I always bring my own travel mug and water bottle to dining halls/restaurants/coffee shops where I regularly purchase food!

• I put my food scraps in a brown paper bag in my freezer/fridge and compost them at the farmer's market on Broadway! (Thursdays 8 a.m.-3 p.m. & Sundays 8 a.m.-1 p.m.!)

• I reduce my single use plastics by not taking plastic utensils/straws from restaurants and try to reduce my consumption of plastic-packaged foods!

• I ask for no lid at Dig Inn and Sweetgreen!

• I floss with string floss instead of the small, plastic picks!

• I talk with my friends and on-campus communities about how we can make environmentally friendly decisions as consumers! (Like reducing consumption of meat & plastic!)

• I write my representatives in Congress to urge them to support legislation that increases regulation of the corporations that contribute to the majority of fossil fuel emissions!

• Recycle!

• My long-term goal is to generate zero waste. Working toward that, I use bamboo toothbrushes, buy toiletries that come in recyclable/compostable packaging, use reusable produce bags for fruit/veg, and try to bring my own cutlery to dining halls. I'm also trying to be more conscious about where I buy my clothes from and what items I buy. Oh and I eat a vegan diet!

• I turn lights off in public spaces (like dorm bathrooms or lounges) when they aren't being used. I carry a reusable bag and water bottle. I am trying to start waste-free Wednesdays!

• I requested an extra bin from Hartley so I can separate my plastics/glass from paper products more easily!  

• Use glass tupperware, ceramic plates, and metal silverware to diminish plastic use.

• I always use a reusable water bottle, and I try and be aware of my heat and water use.

• I am conscious of how much water I run and turn off the sink when I'm not actively using it!

• Reduce plastic use!

• Cut out animal products! Know where your food comes from!

• Pay attention to climate policy and become an earth activist!

• Walk barefoot in the grass and be thankful for all this planet does for us!

What are you listening to? by The Quarto Staff

Illustration by Charlie Blodnieks

We’re back at school after winter break, and as you all know, it’s colder than ever. This week, the staff compiled what we’re listening to on our way to class as we brave the chilly weather. We’re always curious to hear what people are listening to–from favorite podcasts, long-time music loves to the latest new releases. Tweet at us or comment on our Instagram (@columbiaquarto for both!) to share what’s playing through your headphones!

This is what we’ve been streaming:

Music

• Did someone say “Juice” by Lizzo?...Really all of Lizzo’s discography!

• Maggie Rogers’ new album

• “This Night Has Opened My Eyes” by The Smiths, “Carmensita” by Devendra Barnhart, “Generation Why” by Weyes Blood

• I've been experiencing a Frank Ocean revival recently.

• “400 Lux” by Lorde

• Maggie Rogers' new album Heard It in a Past Life, Billie Holiday, Leon Bridges, a whole lot of love songs to keep my heart warm, and Frank Ocean for the necessary angst.

• “Hunnybee” by Unknown Mortal Orchestra

• Grateful Dead's “Workingman's Dead” & Noname's “Room 25”

• Omar Khorshid

• “This Will Be Our Year” by The Zombies

• “Roll Some Mo and Karma” by Lucky Daye

• “Sunflower” from the Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse soundtrack!

• “Bookstore Girl” by Charlie Burg and the entirety of the Mamma Mia! soundtracks on repeat.

• “Shark Smile” by Big Thief and “Sweet Jane” by The Velvet Underground

Want more recommendations? Listen to our staff-curated Spotify playlist! We update the playlist bi-weekly, so be sure to follow the playlist for recommendations all semester.

Podcasts

• Still Processing with Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham from the NYT. They're back and better than ever with their new season!

• Slow Burn by Slate about the Nixon impeachment

• Ear Hustle–produced by men and volunteers in San Quentin Prison!

• NPR’s Code Switch

• Borns

• Invisibilia

• Storycorps

• I’m super into murder podcasts, mainly My Favorite Murder. I also listen to Last Podcast on the Left & Still Processing!

• Buffering the Vampire Slayer

• Song Exploder–musicians take apart their song and talk about how it was made!

• NPR’s Morning Edition while I get ready for class and catching up on old episodes of the podcast Lore on Spotify