High Grade released with fanfare

For his last time as Co-Editor in Chief, Abdullah Ahmed announced the release of “High Grade” 2011. “High Grade” is the literary arts journal on campus that accepts submissions each fall and publishes the pieces in the spring. They encourage artists all of kinds to send in their pieces of music, painting, drawing, poetry, writing, photography, and more.

At the release party, Mines students and staff took turns performing and presenting their submissions. The audience heard one piano solo, several poetry and short-story readings, one rapper, and one acoustic performance. The Dots, a student band, played an impromptu song after it was requested by an audience member.

Ahmed announced each performer and shared several stories of how these artists had impacted his life. He stated that before meeting “High Grade” Faculty Advisor Toni Lefton, he could only see in black and white. “And now,” Ahmed praised, “I see everything in color.”

In addition to the selected performances, hard copies of the journal including all accepted submissions were available to attendees. A CD with 11 recorded songs and readings came with each journal. 

Ahmed took the podium for a final time and modestly thanked his fellow staff for their work in “High Grade.” He was grateful to have played a part in it and was sad to be leaving. Lefton then stood and asked the audience for a standing ovation for Ahmed.

“There is a poem beneath every boulder in Kafadar commons. There is a short story waiting to be told in the basement of Meyer Hall. A simile hanging from the towering bells on Guggenheim. A metaphor lying among the test tubes of the mercury lab in Alderson Hall. And many, many pencils waiting to be sharpened and put to use.”