In 2012, a new literary journal entitled Awraq was published by the (new) Syrian Writers' Collective. The renowned Syrian philosopher Sadiq Jalal al-Azm acts as editor-in-chief, also writing the introductory and concluding essays, and the issue includes a broad range of literary, scholarly and critical voices, like Yassin al-Hajj Salih, Ibrahim Samuil, newer ones who are finding their voice within the existential rupture of the current uprising in Syria, and even an essay by the Slovene philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Zizek. This paper will look at continuities and discontinuities with the Collective's historical and spiritual antecedent formed in 1951 in Damascus. There is a notable rhetorical mirroring, "creating a free forum for Syrian writers" in both "manifestos," but the transformation of the Collective into the Arab Writers' Union in 1954 subsequently co-opted its consensus, and seemingly aligned it with state discourse. One wonders why this new collective would tap into this zeitgeist. What parallels can we find between the two and how can we "read" this re-formation? As well, what is at stake in forming a new collective in the midst of the bloody uprising in Syria: Is it a gesture of negation? Or regeneration? In light of the tragic violence in Syria this paper will consider how the publication of Awraq supports innovation in a time of rupture, while also suggesting continuity with an existential past.