Janus, Williston’s Visual and Literary and Arts Magazine, is now in its 76th volume. The Winter 2025-2026 edition is available to read in the Clapp Memorial Library, online here, and beyond, and features poetry, short stories, drawings, and photographs by many talented Williston students. To shed a little light on the beloved publication, we asked Janus editors Addie Eakin ’27 and Zoe Simon ’26 the following five questions.
1. What drew you to being an editor of Janus?
- Addie: I first learned about Janus two years ago at the Club Fair and signed up, but didn’t really go to a meeting because I was a freshman and kind of signed up for every club. Last year during my sophomore year, I went to almost every meeting of Janus because Lucy Hoyt, one of my good friends and my cross-country captain, was the co-editor. I really enjoyed getting to know new people and meet different groups of people outside my normal friend group. Then last year at the end of the year, [Janus advisor] Mrs. Sawyer asked me if I would like to be one of the co-editors of Janus, and I said ‘Yes.’
- Zoe: I wanted to encourage a culture of celebrating arts in a school I found was becoming progressively less arts-oriented. Beyond that, I enjoy STEM and wanted to give myself an outlet beyond that, and I found that Janus provided a great solution to both.
2. Who is one of your favorite writers, and what’s your favorite pieces of writing by them?
- Addie: My favorite poem is “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost. I first heard this poem in sixth grade during my English class, but it really stuck with me, and contains a message I keep coming back to in my daily life. I really love the poem because it is essentially emphasizing how nothing beautiful (golden) is permanent, and to live in the moment.
- Zoe: One of my favorite poets is Mary Oliver, and I really enjoy her poem “Wild Geese.”
3. What’s a challenge about being the editor of Janus?
- Addie: I really wish more peers, friends, and teachers would submit their work, whether it is a poem, short story, or photograph. I think the majority of the people on campus underestimate themselves and could be really creative or come up with some amazing idea if they would just risk going out of their comfort zones. Janus is super cool, and it is really fun to see other people’s work.
- Zoe: Janus is a great addition to, versus a central part of, many students’ school experience, so sometimes, especially during times of academic stress, we don’t get that many submissions. Some, for instance, come in as extra credit assignments. Thank being said, I am grateful for and love seeing diversity of submissions, even if they’re for credit.
4. What’s something you think people may not know about Janus?
- Addie: I wish people knew the history of Janus. Over the years, I have had the pleasure to learn a lot about Janus and look through many old collections from way before I was born, which is super cool. Even showing up to one meeting can be so helpful or make a huge difference, because all it takes is giving up 30 or so minutes on a Thursday before study hall.
- Zoe: Something people may not know about Janus, and I would say creating on the whole, is that there truly is no pressure behind it. I personally find art incredibly cathartic, and Janus is simply a medium to share that beauty and satisfaction with others. Everything is entirely anonymous and submission can only enrich the magazine and the arts community on the whole.
5. If you could have coffee with anyone from history, a writer or otherwise, who would it be and why?
- Addie: If I could have coffee with anyone from history, I would choose Maya Angelou. Over this summer I read her book The Complete Poetry, and it was so moving. I also want to ask her about some specific rhythmic choices and who inspired her, and who is her favorite poet.
- Zoe: I would really like to talk to Isabel Moctezuma. I’ve always found Aztec culture interesting, and I would love to get a primary account of the fall of the Aztec empire.