In the Spring of 2021, the English Department at California State University, Los Angeles partnered with the University of Alberta to offer an international writing workshop for students on path to be the first in their families to graduate with a four-year university degree. Informed by translingual writing pedagogy, Cal State LA graduate students and tutors at the University of Alberta's Centre for Writers guided workshop participants through the process of drafting, revising, and editing personal narratives on their first-gen college experiences. The workshop, which took place against a backdrop of a global pandemic, produced powerful stories of endurance, resilience, and willful determination. In this inaugural issue of Text & Type, we celebrate students who traverse seemingly impassible borders to write their own stories. 

Acknowledgments

Text & Type extends a special thank you to the University of Alberta's Centre for Writers staff: Dr. Lucie Moussu, Anna Antonova, Derya Cinar, Breanne Duguay, Ayla Hermanutz, and Silvia Sgaramella; to Cal State LA graduate student workshop facilitators: Erica Bennet, Theo Cordoneanu, and Rory Olivarez; to Associate Editor and recently graduated English M.A. student, Luis Alonso; to Humanities Librarian, Paizha Stoothoff; and to English Department Chair, Dr. Linda Greenberg. This inaugural issue of Text & Type would not have been possible without your support and creative and collaborative vision.

Published: 2021-08-06