Graft

Interest form: https://forms.gle/oLx6cpp7SEdsxH666

This is a temporal site for pitching purpose and will hopefully move to heterolog.com.

“What is multilingualism? It is not only the ability to speak several languages. Multilingualism is the passionate desire to accept and understand our neighbor’s language and to confront the massive leveling force of language continuously imposed by the West — yesterday with French, today with American English — with a multiplicity of languages and their mutual comprehension.”

— Edouard Glissant, Caribbean Discourse

At Claremont Colleges, it feels natural to hear some Spanish or Mandarin or other languages on campus. As the national first in diversity, we have percentages of quirky, underrepresented student population more than other institutions. However, when it comes to campus publications, English seems to be only language that is represented. Nationwide, the imperialist bill now regards English to be the sole official language of the U.S., despite a large population of the country speaks a different language. Multilingualism is the foundation of the U.S. as an immigration nation, not to mention native American languages that have been spoken in their land long before the arrival of English. 

Achieving linguistic diversity has never been this urgent. 

Graft aims to provide a platform where language matters. With its name inspired from the botanical practice of inserting a twig to the stem of a plant and its etymological origin of “writing implement” (graphion), it seeks for coexistence of different languages and voices in one tong rather than the dominance of one. To some whose native language is not English, writing in mother tongue makes Pomona feel more like home, expressing tenderness only possible in their most familiar language. It does not only fosters conversations between language natives but also invites students who are interested in different languages and cultures, provides a space to publish writings in an unfamiliar or heritage language (CSWIM provided tips for doing so). The magazine is a dynamic community where anyone across 7Cs is welcomed to join and submit essays. Presence of English is not diminished, rather it welcomes varieties of English, including “dialects” (sociolect, ethnolect…) and “accents,” that compose a crucial part of our daily speech. 

Submissions can be 1) literary writings (novels, poetry, reviews, essays and translations that approved by the author) written in a language other than English, or 2) literary writings about a language other than Standard English or a non-U.S. culture, or 3) essays about linguistics (lecture assignments/final paper). It is encouraged to submit a translation of your work if written in non-English, but we’ll have editors proficient in major languages.

Separate issues of Graft centers around a theme, but only a part of the issue will be in the theme section. It does have sections that classify types of articles like literary works, opinions, reviews & commentaries, and translations; and possible subsections that classify regions or cultures that the articles address.

Join

We are seeking talented people willing to contribute for multiple staff positions; descriptions are available in the constitution on Engage:

Co-editor-in-chief x 1

Editor-at-large x 1

Managing editor x 1

Copy Editor x 2

Translation Editor (Spanish, Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, German etc.) x 6-9

Creative Director x 1-2

Website Editor x 1

Communications Director x 1

Operations Director x 1

Treasurer x 1

Interest form: https://forms.gle/oLx6cpp7SEdsxH666

Also contact bxvg2025@mymail.pomona.edu or his instagram @winkosman if you are interested.