Illustration by Justin Lau. Illustration by Justin Lau. Josette Torres someday wants to eat a meal at the CNN Grill. Until then, the 44-year-old Northwest Indiana native turned downtown Blacksburg dweller continues her studies at Virginia Tech as a doctoral student in cultural thought in the ASPECT Program. Torres tends to write wherever she can: “coffee shops, offices, classrooms, patios, Cassell Coliseum, the back deck at Top of the Stairs, the BT, my bed when I should be sleeping, and so on.” “I have a compulsive need to slam words down on paper on the regular. It’s part of my …
Elephants
Illustration by Justin Lau. Illustration by Justin Lau. How shall we celebrate the earth without them? How shall we celebrate the earth without them? How shall we celebrate the earth without them? Alwyn Moss has certainly made her mark on Blacksburg in the 30+ years she has lived here: she has taught art, creative writing, and kindergarten, worked to preserve Heritage Park, and published over fifty commentaries in the Roanoke Times. A longtime environmental activist, she is currently an active resident of Warm Hearth Village, serving on the community’s Green Committee and helping to “keep the once 220 acres as …
It’s Clay All the Way Down
Illustration by Justin Lau. Illustration by Justin Lau. Back home, the earth was just clay. Matthew Jones’ poem “It’s Clay All the Way Down” is inspired by his time growing up in Greensboro, North Carolina. In the process of writing it, the 18-year-old mathematics major ended up researching soil maps and resources from NC State University “to learn about the soil types in [his] own backyard.” Poetry may seem a little different from his work as the Town of Blacksburg reporter for the Collegiate Times, but Jones sees some similarities. He ascribes to famed American poet Ted Kooser’s idea that …