Farewell from the Editor

Oh, how I’ve loved this magazine. I wrote a brief love letter to it in the front of this semester’s issue (which you can order here on our website) but want to expand a bit on it here.

Like I said in that letter, I’ve had access to this office for longer than any bedroom of mine since age 11. I moved a lot as a kid and being a member of Silhouette for four years has been – like the other organizations that I have stayed with through all four years – a bit of a shock to my system, in the best way possible.

I wouldn’t say that the magazine has changed my life, per se. What I would say is that it has given me the confidence to do so on my own. I believe that my having a job right after graduation was definitely impacted by my leadership experience here, and I’m grateful for it. I am more grateful for the understanding that has been given to me by this publication, of what it means to be a member of an artistic community, to care for it and keep it. I have been a steward of many things over my life to date, but stewardship of people’s artistic success, capacity and kinship was new and beyond rewarding. I will miss it dearly. 

In this space, I have worn a number of hats – prose editor, blog editor, blog writer, editor-in-chief, featured poet, editor’s choice poet, featured photographer. To say that I bubble over with joy when published in my own magazine is an understatement; it speaks to how much I respect this organization and the work that it does, its excellence and fairness that it is not a given that its staff are published in it, and that it is an accomplishment when they are. How lucky we are to work here. 

Among my fellow staff – former and current –, I have met individuals who have challenged my worldviews on things as simple as fast food classification and things as complex as the different ways in which each of us consumes and interprets creative work. 

There are few experiences as eye-opening and thought-provoking as sitting in a circle with people and discussing the work of an unknown individual. The pieces stand alone; there is no understanding of their creator, no understanding of what was going on in their mind when they wrote it, what life experiences have influenced it. You have the text before you and nothing else. That text reads differently to the person next to you. It makes you a better writer, a better teammate, and I think it makes you a better person. 

As with many members of marching bands, I felt upon my arrival to VT that I would not have time for other things in my life. I fought desperately against that and fell into the good graces of my dear friend Ben, who drove me to the Silhouette office each week after practice in the fall of 2021. I was always late and the meeting was almost always over. Abby Evans, who graduated now three years ago, was kind enough to sit with me for a few minutes each time and to catch me up on what I missed. In the spring, once marching season had ended, I hit the ground running and was there, every time. Other organizations were not so flexible and I am so thankful for Abby and their willingness to keep me in the loop when I couldn’t keep my schedule open. 

In my second fall at the university, I was similarly troubled with a conflicting practice and meeting schedule. This did not stop Grace Cutsinger, Abby’s successor, from turning me into her own successor. I often felt like despite the fact that by spring 2023 that I had been with the magazine for two years, that it was more like two semesters. Grace believed in me anyways. Her meme content on Instagram is now very important to me. 

One of the perks of being editor-in-chief is that I’ve made the meeting calendar for the past two years, so I’m happy to say that marching band has never made me miss a meeting again. And now, for me, there will be no more meetings to miss.

The Silhouette also taught me that EMCVT exists and matters. While my time at the Collegiate Times began independently of the Silhouette (other than being encouraged by Abby, if I remember correctly), I can absolutely attribute my WUVT DJ days to the influence of those EMCVT meetings. It's sure been fun.

My only regret is that I didn’t have more time available to love this magazine. I have done my best and I hope that you have felt it. Thank you to Abby for letting me in; thank you to Grace for handing me the keys; thank you to my amazing staff for making me feel like I’m doing an okay (and sometimes meaningful) job; and thank you to our supporters in the creative community for letting me safeguard your work, from my days on prose to my days getting the emails. 

Keep ‘em safe, happy and fed, Sophia. 

All my love, and I sincerely hope that I will see you again somehow. 

Emelia Delaporte

EIC, May 2023 to May 2025