“American Elegy”
after Emma Lazarus
by Cosi Pori
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What struck me with Cosi’s piece was not only its timeliness, but also its duality of new and old, its thrifty use of The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus to frame a new context, and its implications for the future. Cosi beautifully renders metaphors that ask us to question freedom and truth, and they incorporate a careful amount of irony and humor to guide their poem. We decided to open the magazine with an elegy, because so much had taken place that year and the student body carried a lot of that weight with them. It seemed poetic to use this as an entryway into the magazine and illuminate the setting in which it was created. Cosi encapsulated the entire room when they read their piece at the show opening. It was a powerful moment, and we were proud to have such a powerful piece open our magazine. — Alexandra Madsen, Quarry Executive Editor, St. Olaf College
