Our Story
What is a Smudge? A smudge is the threshold through which everything passes, the liminal, the place where anything can happen. A smudge is a site of liberation, the place where colors, cultures, aesthetics, traditions, blend, merge, and build. A smudge is a demarcation of transformation, the in between, the pupa and cocoon between caterpillar and butterfly. A smudge can become anything. The smudge is us.
Smudge was founded in 2021 when a group of students discussed the frustrations of cultural misunderstandings in the writing workshop, especially during critiques. Smudge was created to prevent further misinterpretations, to provide a safe space for writers and artists of color where they feel like their work will not be undervalued and misjudged.
Our name comes from a poem, “Smudge” written by Malachi Jones who won the Golden Portfolio Award from Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The final line of his poem captures Smudge's presence on campus: "A black mass against a bright canvas." Rather than hiding away, Smudge takes pride in this presence.
Check out our video “The Story Behind Smudge” here.
Carlos Yu (he/him) is a Creative Writing major. He was born in Manila, Philippines, but currently lives in Brooklyn. He eats rice with everything. He always misses his family and loves to write about them.
Editor-in-Chief
Florence Yu (She/her) is a senior from Honolulu, Hawai'i, majoring in creative writing and music.
Managing Editor
Marley Reedy (she/her) is a junior at Wheaton interested in Anthropology, Creative Writing, and Environmental Studies. She is from Brooklyn and enjoys writing poetry. She appears in the 2020 issue of Sunset Press from Kenyon College. She is passionate about the environment and hopes to study abroad in the future. She enjoys the outdoors, crafting, and reading and has recently been inspired by the writing of Eileen Myles.
Secretary/Editor
Mesalenuo Tsurho (she/her) is a sophomore from Nagaland, India. Her intended majoris Business & Management with a minor in Public Health. She loves sports but never keeps up with teams. She loves watching comedies, asian dramas, fashion, food and art. She loves this quote and swears she coined it because she forgot the initial saying : "Why do one thing when you can do it all." This quote is also what she tries to live by and sometimes, it leads to burnout but she loves it. She loves cooking asian food and will always add extra spice to her food.
President/Editor-in-Chief
Anson Wang (he/him) is a junior from California majoring in Creative Writing and Visual Arts. He loves basketball, hip hop, manga and clouds.
Editor
Marium Roomi (She/her) is a freshman at Wheaton College MA. She is from Karachi, Pakistan, and loves painting and drawing. Some of her favorite mediums are acrylics, oil pastels, and color pencils. Her major is undecided at the moment, but she is leaning toward design. She enjoys crocheting and baking in her free time.
Lead Illustrator
Matt Lambert (He/him) is a junior Visual Arts major attending Wheaton College MA. He is from Hampton, New Hampshire. His experience lies in painting (oil, watercolor), drawing, sculpting, and photography. Their personal work centers around his identity as an Asian American, mental health, and more.
Celines Ramirez (she/her) is a junior at Wheaton majoring in Psychology with a minor in Italian Studies. She is from the Bronx and loves listening to and finding new music. She enjoys reading just about anything and is always looking for something new to obsess over.
Copy Editor
Maya Jana (she/her) is a sophomore double majoring in art history and finance. She’s from Houston, Texas, and adores Kazuo Shiraga. Maya loves Eastern art, dead languages, and the Roman Empire, and hopes to work as a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art someday.
Copy Editor
Visual Arts Editor/Illustrator
Malia Gentile (she/her) is a first-year and intended Environmental Science/Policy major. The arts in all forms like writing, drawing, singing, theatrical performing, and dancing, are prominent forces in her life that have shaped her into the person she is today.
Staff Writer
Samzok Tshogyel Wangdi is a junior Visual Arts major at Wheaton College. She is from Thimphu, Bhutan, and hopes to work in the art industry once she graduates. She likes to creatively express herself through different mediums such as singing, playing the guitar, and painting. She loves bubble tea, cats, and fashion.
Illustrator
Tesfay Saleh-Batts (he/him) is a junior and is currently a Mathematics and Visual Arts Major. He is from Brooklyn and enjoys creating pieces of art. He loves expanding/exploring with his arts and he loves creating new worlds from existing ideas. He actively creates and learns from his life experiences. He also likes numbers?
Illustrator
Mandi Zhu (she/her) is a freshman from Guangzhou, China. Her intended major is Film and News Media Studies with an undecided minor or second major, and would like to study abroad in the coming future. She romanticizes human’s moral ambiguity way too much and loves exploring topics of death, grief, memory, and love. She doodles and sings and makes long edits in her spare time, and watches a lot of BBC shows with a teeny bit of musicals on the side. Mandi is also obsessed with cappuccino, alternative rock, Victorian literature and Kafka’s diary entries. Plus a love-hate relationship with Marvel.
Illustrator
Sam Garufi (he/him) is a sophomore at Wheaton College interested in majoring primarily in History, but is also considering a minor in some other field. He was born in Guatemala, but was brought over to the States to permanently reside in Mass all the way till now. His love of history has no bounds, obtaining anything he can get his hands on from old books to 78rpm records/wax cylinders. He enjoys drawing and reading whenever the time is possible, and also watches movies or TV shows on rare occasions. The music of Zappa and Mac Demarco are kept in a special place in his heart.
Illustrator
Leigh Einbinder (she/her) is a first-year at Wheaton interested in the social sciences. She relaxes by crocheting and drawing in her spare time, usually with a movie on in the background. She also enjoys meeting new people and trying out as many Wheaton clubs as possible.
Illustrator
Caitlin Perrigo (She/her) is a junior at Wheaton College and is studying Biology and Visual arts. She is an artist from Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Caitlin has been awarded multiple regional gold keys from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and was nominated for the The American Voices & Visions Award. During her sophomore year she was chosen for an art and writing program that took place at the Burren College of Art in Ireland. Caitlin plans to become a science illustrator and loves to paint nature. If Caitlin is not painting you can usually find her hanging out with friends. Check out her site! https://www.caitlinperrigo.com/
Illustrator
Joe Sato Murphy (he/him) is a freshman from Portland, Maine who also spent some time growing up in Tokyo. He is a New Media Studies major and loves cooking in his free time.
Videographer
Prabidhi Malla (she/her) is a first year & interested in pursuing Biology. She was born in Nepal but moved to NYC when she was 8 years old. She enjoys reading memoirs, and novels, and trying out new food (but prefers South Asian food).
Social Media Manager
Alba Medina (she/her) is a potential Design and Sociology double major from New York City. She’s a POSSE scholar who loves films, traveling and going out with friends!
Outreach Coordinator
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