Finding ‘truth in writing’: literary journal showcases high school’s hidden writing talent

Even though S.E. Hinton wrote her acclaimed coming-of age novel The Outsiders while still in high school, people don’t generally associate high school students with literary talent. At St. John Brebeuf Regional Secondary, creative writing teacher Joshua Palmarin is trying to change all that with the creation of The Bombadillion, a journal for promoting the literary skill of the school’s most capable writers. 

“I’ve noticed that there is some really fine excellent talent, and I wanted that to be visible to the community,” Joshua Palmarin told The B.C. Catholic. “You know athletics will get celebrated: they are very visible. If a kid is awesome at basketball, there is an assembly and there is a spotlight and their name gets chanted. But these [writers], this is like a hidden talent that nobody knows.”

At first glance it might seem like The Bombadillion is a simple high school publication, but the journal is designed to elevate the students beyond their high school context. Palmarin emphasizes the professional nature of the publication, and it is easy to forget the stories are written by high school students. 

An introduction by cover artist Simone Fernandez says the contents of the publication have been selected “to offer you a brief respite from the cares of this world, in order to refresh you with humour, with meaning, and perhaps with a little bit of joy.”

The Catholic quality of this pronouncement is hard to miss, and the journal’s Catholicity is further emphasized by its namesake, J.R.R. Tolkien character Tom Bombadil. 

Bombadil is characterized by his joy and delight, and his sacramental appreciation for nature and life. His literary home, The Lord of the Rings, is well known for its emphasis on redemptive themes. In keeping with this influence, Palmarin isn’t interested in publishing any old teenage angst: he expects submissions to be uplifting. This can be a challenge for young writers, but he is firm. “I am looking for a redemptive theme,” Palmarin said.

Additionally, he sets a high bar for any student seeking publication. There is a rigorous review process that includes a face-to-face meeting, and students are expected to submit multiple revisions of prospective work. 

“Most of the submissions don’t make it to the final cut,” he said, but the process is worth it because the committed “end up with something that is very high quality that they can be proud of.”

The first issue of the journal was compiled with submissions from Palmarin’s Creative Writing 12 class during the 2019/2020 academic year. 

“I did the first one secretly [and once it was done] I showed it to my principal and he was blown away,” Palmarin told The B.C. Catholic. The school now funds the journal (which is sold for $5 an issue), and last year’s edition was a resounding success, selling out almost immediately.

The creative writing class offers a challenging environment for students to develop their writing skills. Creative writing student and Bombadillion contributor Andrea Ocon likes the open-ended nature of the class’s assignments, and she believes there is special value in the way that students can develop their own views through writing prompts.

Students also appreciate that the class allows them to focus on creativity despite their busy academic schedules. “The class gave me space to give attention to my writing and get critiques from my peers,” Bombadillion writer Luca Abballe said. 

It has also helped them develop their sense of beauty and truth as well as navigate life decisions.   

For Ocon, this meant recognizing the fundamental connection between truth and reality. The class helped her find “truth in writing,” and she gives her favourite authors, the Brontë sisters Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, as examples of this reality.

Student Elizabeth Woitowitsch says her experience with creative writing helped her consider a writing career as a journalist. “I want to use something I have, a gift I have been given, to improve the world.”

For SJB alumna Ruthie Lindl, a nursing student at Trinity Western University, the experience with creative writing has influenced her approach toward her future profession. 

Writing helped Lindl see the value of constant reflection, while her love of creating characters taught her to see her patients as more than just “snapshots of a medical diagnosis,” but as “human beings with context” and “an entire story that reflects their inherent worth and dignity.

Journaling in particular has helped Lindl with the stress of nursing school and deadlines, and she sometimes sketches herself as “the Florence Nightingale of Fraser Health” in her writing.

“My love for writing and creating characters with their own virtues and foibles has informed how I can see those I care for in clinical practice: not simply a snapshot of a medical diagnosis of one 12-hour shift, but a human being with context, an entire story that reflects their inherent worth and dignity and demands my respect.”

Literature is more than just something to enjoy: it broadens the vision of those who take it seriously and the creative writing class, along with the journal, has created a literary culture at SJB that does more than just provide students with “the thrill of seeing their name and words in print,” said Lindl.