'Look within yourself and see what you have to say'

The big band sound from the 17-piece Friends Academy Jazz Band filled the room in the newly designed Kumar Wang Library Hub, as band members warmed up the crowd of students and faculty who had gathered to mark the launch of the Gnosis 2024-25 literary season. Also in attendance via Zoom from Alaska and Switzerland were FA alums, and siblings, Matthew '72 and Nanette '71 Stevenson, who shared about their time in their literary careers.

Spearheaded by Editor-in-Chief, Charli Zahtila, and Editorial Leads Minnie Yu, Andrew Wang, and Eleanor Lawton Flatters, the kick-off featured a variety of readings – original student poetry, short stories, play and graphic text – as well as illustrations, sculptures, mixed media, and paintings that were featured in the final 2024 Gnosis Art and Literary Review.

Organized into three sections (The Revival, The Blossoming, and The Reckoning), the publication and the event highlighted themes that spoke to longing and loss, fears and reflection, as well as growth and consequences. Filled with contributions from 27 student contributors, eight students read from their work.

In "XièXiè Pópo" Sophomore Sydney Wang wrote about a grandmother-type figure in her life whom she had taken for granted, until she wasn't. Junior Kody Mitchell and senior Taylor Fernandez read from Eric Ding's '25 short play, "Bad Call," an examination of high school stereotypes that pit artists against athletes. In their poems, "In Lockstep With My Shadow," by senior Eleanor Lawton Flatters and "The Flipside" by sophomore Sahana Gupta, unanswered questions and feelings permeate.

"I am so impressed with what you have created," exclaimed Nanette, as she held up an artifact from her time at FA, a 1971 issue of The Red and Black newspaper – the precursor to today's Inkwell. "This is a real testament to the power of a book – uniting you in your voices and giving you a place to express your feelings and your artwork," she added.

A graduate of Skidmore, Nanette is a freelance book and graphic designer living in Anchorage, and former Art Director of children’s books at G. P. Putnam’s Sons and Philomel Books in New York City. Over her career, Nanette worked with notable author and illustrators – from Eric Carle, Tomie dePaola, and Jan Brett to many others. "I was not a very good student and didn't read well, so my solace came in the art room, which started in grade school and continued at Friends," said Nanette.

Her career provided a behind-the-scenes look at how a book comes together, both physically and in partnership with others. "It was really a coming together and I tried to support artists. You are trying to help them see a little bit of a different way to create... and that came out of Friends," shared Nanette, whose career strengthened her gift of seamlessly integrating story, illustrations, photos, text layout, and manufacturing, while working closely with the authors, illustrators, and publisher to support their vision. 

"Lillian Gilden was our teacher back then and she was wonderful, experimental, and free. She gave me the confidence and I can look back now and see the threads," she said.

Her younger brother, Matthew, who also devoted his career to literary pursuits Graduating from Columbia University, worked for Harper's Magazine and remains a contributory author today from Switzerland, where he resides. "At the end of the day , you are writing for yourself and the journey that you are is that you are looking for a voice, an emotion, a thought that you had at the time," he described. "To take time to search for your voice? I commend you, especially when you have such busy lives."

Matthew also addressed the flip side of the creative process – rejection. "You will send articles to magazines and they will say, 'no.' I've been hearing that word for 50 years. 'No' means it doesn't jell for this collection or magazine. It doesn't mean it is invalid," he advised Gnosis' staff. "Don't give up on the story or poem; if you do, you give up on being a writer, poet, artist, historian," he urged.

In closing the event, Nanette offered final words of advice to Friends Academy's budding writers and artists. "To be creative, you have to be willing to look within yourself to see what you have to say – then make books like Gnosis and share them with the world."

See more photos from the event.

Photography by Alvin Caal