The Musings at Brescia – A New Feminist Western Literary Perspective

The Musings at Brescia used to be a thriving literary magazine at Brescia but seems to have been abandoned years ago as the previous editors graduated. That is until three upper-year students in Brescia’s English and Creative Writing program decided to revive it for this year with the help of professors Monika Lee and Vanessa Brown. With new marketing, editors, and perspectives, The Musings at Brescia is quickly becoming a safe literary space for Brescia students and non-male-identifying Western students and affiliates.

Ally Pieterman, Emma Semple, and Maria Munera met in a creative writing class at Brescia in 2022 under the tutelage of Dr. Monika Lee, who was the faculty advisor for The Musings when it initially started. Kaatje Kempe began the project of reviving The Musings and has since been joined by Pieterman, Semple, and Munera. Since Dr. Lee has left on sabbatical, the club’s revival has largely been helped by Professor Vanessa Brown, who comes with a wealth of experience as a published author and a seller of creative ’zines and rare books at her bookstore Brown and Dickson.

The Musings at Brescia boasts a new literary perspective for female, non-binary, and trans-female students and associates of Western. As an organization run by women, the editors of the Musings understand the unique perspective that non-male creative works offer. They also understand the difficulty of competing for recognition against men and male privilege and offer a space free from unequal barriers to success. While there are many literary magazines and clubs across Western, and many that boast of being feminists, The Musings truly offers easier access for women into the creative writing world.

To all students/alumni/associates looking to submit, The Musings’ submission date is March 8, which is also International Women’s Day. Additionally, they are hosting a Bad Poetry Contest on February 16 at 7:00 pm at Brown and Dickson’s bookstore on Richmond Street.