At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we believe in the students' ability to be a part of something bigger. The Department of English has always recognized the talent shown through its students' writing, and that recognition manifests itself through Understory.
This year's edition of the anthology showcases the best work possible, both the creative work reviewed by student interns, and scholarly work selected by the English faculty. However, our dreams would not have come to fruition had we not had the immense volume of submissions and support from our student body. 

This is one of the largest Understory editions to date, in part because of how many different authors have been accepted into the publication. When approaching these pieces, we intentionally wanted to pull from a diverse crowd of writers from varying backgrounds, experiences, and topics of interest to accurately represent the undergraduate population at UAA.

Beginnings, endings, and change are a common thread throughout the pieces, and are reflected in the photography selected to be in the cover. For some writers, the sun rose with new love, life, and a reflection on the things that matter most. Some explored death, grief, and the pain that inevitably comes with ending. Still, others explored changing from the person our families raised us to be, shifting identities, and the ways that people before us have lived and moved throughout the world. At their core, every piece tackles the question: what does it mean to be human? What does it mean to live and exist in this world? 

We take pride in creating a poignant, diverse, and truly entertaining volume of Understory. Working on this project has been an extremely challenging yet rewarding experience, and we hope that shows through this final product. 

Taylor Heckart and Taylor Morrison