To celebrate ARTS WEEK, the second volume of Meadowdale High School’s art and literary magazine entitled “Unmasked” was distributed to students Tuesday at a lunch event called “Poetry on the Patio” where published students read their poetry.

The magazine is a venue that showcases youth expression at MHS; the art and writing represents original works chosen by six students who produced the magazine for their senior project. This senior project team solicited submissions, chose the art and writing to publish, laid out the magazine using Adobe InDesign, raised the $1,300 needed to print the magazine and gained valuable career skills along the way.

All students at the school were encouraged to submit work to be published; of the over 100 students who submitted work for publication, 26 were chosen for the 32-page magazine.

Published in the magazine is junior, Ronahi Zebari, who uses a wheelchair to get around school. Her piece, “Judging” is in the shape of a wheelchair. She writes, “what do you see when you look at me? Do you see only my disability?”

Also published in the magazine is senior, Tucker Jones, who writes that he is “afraid to color outside of the lines/to use the wrong shades and hues.”

In the poem “Wings” written by freshman, September Griffis, the poet writes, “I long to be a phoenix/but I need wings in order to fly into the flames/to rise up from the ashes of a shattered existence.”

With generous funding from the Edmonds Public Schools Foundation, the MHS Parent Resource Group, Third Place Books, Tubs Subs, Edmonds Book Shop, My Edmonds News, and Comstock Jewelers, MHS students were able to unmask in the magazine and express themselves.

The magazine is a collection of poetry, prose, photography, and two-dimensional art. The project adviser, creative writing and senior English teacher Alison Ersfeld, plans to work with students again next year to create the magazine.

Ersfeld just received a grant from the Edmonds Public Schools Foundation for the 2013-14 school year to help fund the project.

The magazine is available for free by contacting adviser Alison Ersfeld at: ErsfeldA@edmonds.wednet.edu.