Dear Reader,

I spent the summer in Chicago working at Garfield Park Conservatory, one of the country’s largest public greenhouses. The conservatory’s haystack-shaped domes shield a profusion of flora -- ginger, banana trees, ferns, bromeliads, succulents -- from summer heat and winter cold. Except when they don’t.

Everyone at the conservatory knows of the legendary 2011 hailstorm. That June, half the panes of glass shattered under the ice, raining shards onto the precious fronds and blooms. The trouble with a glass house is that although it lets light in, it can leave its inhabitants vulnerable.

Publishing something you’ve created is like planting a landscape in a glass house. You’ve cultivated your ideas and feelings, but in the process, you open them to the perception of others. Nevertheless, our Glass House is richer for having shared it. Welcome to this glittering structure. Each contributor and editor is an architect, and we hope you enjoy roaming our rooms.

Saludos,

Monica Colón ‘23

Editor-in-chief, 2022-23