The Spring ’21 edition of Sisyphus will be on sale this Wednesday, April 28. It marks the first time the magazine—which features a multitude of student and faculty-made poems, short stories, plays, photography, and artwork—will have a physical copy since the Winter ’20 edition.

Perseverance has marked Sisyphus’s past year. When they were gearing up for their second edition last year the pandemic hit, leaving them with no other choice but to cancel it.

Sisyphus is typically released two times every year in the winter and spring. However, the moderators, English Teacher Frank Kovarik and Retired English Teacher Richard Moran decided that it would be easier to release four mini issues throughout the year and one big print issue at the end of the year that compiled everything along with new submissions. 

“(It was) harder for us as a staff to get together and it's a little bit harder to reach students who might be interested in writing,” said Kovarik. “So I think that that's why we've tried to do the mini issues that we did to kind of keep the magazine on the radar of the school and keep people interested in writing and reading.” 

“This year, we felt we didn't have the ability to do the conferencing that we need to do in the first semester, and that we would instead publish some online issues and lean pretty hard on our layout editor,” said Moran. 

The 60-page magazine will also be the first full-color Sisyphus in its entire history. Typically only the centerfold and cover are in color. 

Kovarik commented, saying,“I think it's a very physically attractive, visually stimulating issue. It’s a compilation of all of the pieces we published digitally this year. In addition to a number of new pieces as well.” 

“It's really something that we could afford to do because we didn't put out a print issue in the first semester . . . we splurged on this issue, and it made it a lot easier to deliver art in its full splendor,” said Moran. “That trend really started with the online issues which the layout editors did a great job with using color and the color really comes through. It’s really kind of brilliant to look at, I think.” 

Even with the year being as crazy as it is, the magazine features great prose and poetry.  

“There's a fantastic story by Corey Lyles entitled ‘Aka Manto’, which I would describe as a chilling piece of horror,” said Kovarik.

“The other big prose piece that we have is a story by Bill George, a story based upon his growing up in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania,” said Moran, “It's a longer story that is about young boys and girls and some social pressure that they feel; it's a nice story.” 

A poem by senior Albert Harrold entitled “Saggin” described his life experiences.

“I think it’s very relevant for this particular moment in our nation's history as it has been kind of going through a racial reckoning,” said Kovarik. 

“‘Saggin’ by Albert Harrold is a cry of pain about the experience of growing up and being African American in our country,” said Moran. “What I admire about it is that it starts from the personal—not from the political—and conveys that experience pretty deeply I think.” 

In fact, the circumstances around the pandemic even inspired some art like senior Luke Missey’s “Scenes From an Early Spring: An Allegorical Anthology.” 

“Luke wrote his poetic series during walks that he took,” said Kovarik. “When he was in school virtually so he had more time on his hands and he went for a lot of walks, and those walks inspired the poem that he wrote so I think there's an example of how the pandemic actually helped to create some of the art.” 

“They seem to be based upon Luke traveling all over the Merrimack Valley, Kirkland countryside and observing things that he sees… kind of observing them with his experience of reading Dante in the first semester,” said Moran. “It is threaded with allusions to Dante but also based upon things he can saw in the Merrimack Valley.” 

Beautiful and colorful art adds to the splendour of the magazine. 

“I think it's a particularly rich edition for art,” said Moran. “The color I think is particularly striking. There is a bright and intriguing digital art piece of astronauts kind of floating in space with a helmet on and the other is of a parrot’s head. And that makes them seem completely different from coloring and posing together and it feels like a unified cover for the magazine.” 

More notable art includes the masthead photo by Patrick Zarrick and a pen and ink drawing of a skull by sophomore Alex Deiters, and a colorful painting of starburst by senior Brendan McLaughlin. 

This will be the last Sisyphus for the senior Editors. 

“I’m happy I got to be a part of the club all these years,” said senior art and literary editor Philip Hiblovic. “I think it is one of the best parts about SLUH.”

“I'm proud of the work that the seniors have done over there for years,” said Kovarik. “ I hope it's something that they can hold on to and be proud of as they go into college.”

Everyone involved in the production hopes that this will be an example of unity despite the difficulties of this year. 

“This year hasn’t been easy but I am proud of the work we were able to do,” said Duffy. 

“I find this very encouraging and uplifting that we were able to come together as a staff to create a beautiful artifact of the creativity of the people in our school,” said Kovarik. “ It's an act of hope and resistance to the despair of the COVID era.”