From the Editor

Welcome to the first edition of Mosaic 2.0!

In 2008, the Advanced Writing Centre (AWC) at College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNAQ) launched a community outreach writing program. It consisted of a series of workshops offered free of charge to members of the general public in Doha, Qatar, including citizens as well as members of the expatriate community. Participants were invited to submit their poems, stories, and essays to Mosaic, a print publication whose name accurately represented the diversity of authors living in the country. The response to the writing workshops and to the publication was overwhelmingly positive. It highlighted a need for a forum where writers in Qatar could have a voice, and so Mosaic 2.0 was born!

In addition to supporting new voices, Mosaic 2.0 also aims to provide an outlet for experienced creative and scholarly writers. It is meant to be a forum where writers’ purposes - whether to provide entertainment, give information, or spark debate - can be expressed and explored.

The theme for this debut edition is “new beginnings,” and in keeping with the intended eclectic nature of Mosaic 2.0, the writers whose work appears represent various interpretations of that idea. Experienced writer Matthias Krug’s short story provides a glimpse of an immigrant’s first days, while the new voice of M. Hari

Subbiah’s poem on war gives us cause to reflect. Scholarly writing from Dr. Alan Weber gives new life to English poets who might otherwise have remained obscure.
Bringing to reality the dream of an online journal that welcomes such diversity in authors and genres has been the work of the enthusiastic AWC team at CNAQ. Matthew Stranach has provided all the technical design and support; he has been joined by Adam Larson and Kevin Pittman in working with me to review and select the work that appears.

I hope you enjoy Mosaic 2.0 and that you are inspired to share it with others!

Sincerely,

Paula Hayden
Coordinator, Advanced Writing Centre
College of the North Atlantic-Qatar