Understory’s roots dig back to 1986, where a small creative arts journal titled Inklings began in the Anchorage Community College. Since then, the process of this journal’s production has evolved in many ways. Understory 2012 was in danger of going unpublished until many UAA students volunteered their time and support. Volunteer commitment to the preservation of such an important creative outlet to UAA students made this journal possible. It fills us with such gratification and happiness to see undergraduates, graduates, and faculty working together across disciplines to produce a creative work. Understory received a multitude of submissions this year, over 160 individual works of art, poetry, and prose. Such numbers always prove that Understory remains a valuable and important part of an undergraduate’s time here at UAA. Though all submissions this year stood out in some way, a few shone through as achievements of mastery. We wish to acknowledge and thank Caitlin Smith, whose work “Lantern Head” won the Understory Cover Award and Shelley Giraldo, whose piece, “Leda” won the Turnagain Arts Award. We would like to acknowledge the life and death of Hayden Carruth (1921 - 2008). In 1998, Hayden Carruth donated his poem “Springtime, 1998” to Inklings as “a gesture of thanks” to the community. This began the long tradition of the Hayden Carruth Award, an annual poetry prize given to one student featured in the journal. This year, the Hayden Carruth Award goes to Quoc Duong for his poem “Writer’s Complex.” We also wish to acknowledge Cheyenne Morse, whose short story “Gypsy Glass” received the Understory Literary Award. We wish to apologize to UAA alumni John Kendall, whose story “Son of a Thousand Fathers” was sadly missed in Understory 2011. This year, we have featured his story at the closing of this issue. We want to thank all the volunteers who sacrificed their mornings, afternoons, and evenings to help assemble Understory 2012. This journal would not exist without their dedication. — The Editors

“Art is the struggle to be, in a particular sort of way, virtuous.” —Iris Murdoch Indeed, when we embark on any creative adventure it is with the purpose of conveying a certain truth; an emotion, an idea that brings us together and reminds us of the innate consciousness that dwells within. Understory is emblematic of this; where individuals intent on honing their craft can join others to become a part of something greater, their work immortalized to become a time capsule. Decades from now a volume of Understory may be discovered on a dusty bookshelf in some forgotten corner and the lucky explorer who finds it shall be enlightened by pages of gold. We, as editors of Understory 2014, have worked very hard this year to put together a journal that showcases the very best of the University of Alaska Anchorage undergraduate student work. We hope you enjoy your journey through this issue as much as we have enjoyed ours. Thank you to the English and Art Departments, for the staff and faculty’s unerring support of our club; to Provost Baker, for seeing and believing in the vision of Understory; and to our club’s faculty advisor, Douglass Bourne, for his guidance and tireless assistance. Finally, thank you to the wonderful students who submit such excellent work each year. Without your passion for the arts, we would not be here.