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Sunday, February 17, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Submissions Info
The new litmag will be accepting submissions sent to either myself or Matt Gentry.
My email is bchecc1@towson.edu
Matt's is mgentr1@towson.edu
Bear in mind, our private e-mails are only a temporary solution. We'll be setting up a permanent account through hotmail or gmail in the next few days, which will be listed in an update here. Until then, if you'd like to submit, shoot one or both of us an email, and we'll get to it as soon as conceivably possible.
We'd like to thank everyone again for all of the support and encouragement we've been receiving. Now turn those intangibles into submissions, and we'll be really getting somewhere.
My email is bchecc1@towson.edu
Matt's is mgentr1@towson.edu
Bear in mind, our private e-mails are only a temporary solution. We'll be setting up a permanent account through hotmail or gmail in the next few days, which will be listed in an update here. Until then, if you'd like to submit, shoot one or both of us an email, and we'll get to it as soon as conceivably possible.
We'd like to thank everyone again for all of the support and encouragement we've been receiving. Now turn those intangibles into submissions, and we'll be really getting somewhere.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Turning a Vision into a Reality
The rumors circulating at Towson University have turned out to be true; there is indeed a new literary magazine in the works. What started as the grumblings of a few discontented English Majors complaining about the current lit mag (Grub Street), and the scattered ideas and 'what if?'s has solidified into the formation of a totally new, freeform perspectivist project. The emphasis of the new 'zine is "lived perspectives," the individual interpretations and reactions to real world phenomena and events. This is of course a very general concept, and one that incorporate and be complemented by a varying styles of creative expression. There is no reason that free-form poetry cannot co-habitate with traditional short fiction; no reason that visual artwork cannot be in the same magazine as political essays.
We live an era where individual perspectives are respected, probably for the first time in all of human history. The ethnic, religious, cultural and economic barriers are being largely being broken down, and people are coming into contact with more diverse and varying perspectives every day; why not stick them all together into the same magazine? I know that traditionally, such things have been slanted, being either traditional or liberal, conservative or egalitarian- we seek to encompass all as one. If every perspective is equally valid, or at least deserving of respect and tolerance, why not publish them all together? This seems to me to be the truest way to interpret reality- the smorgasborg of opinions and perspectives, the discursive and often contradictory elements that inspire debate, discourse, and action. Thus, we intend to publish just about anything that comes our way, viewpoints and slants be damned. This is our vision- one of egalitarian, democratic debate, with intrinsic respect given to all perspectives and interpretations of reality.
As of now, the magazine is without a title, without a concrete staff, and largely without submissions (my sincerest thanks to the notable few who have jumped the gun and submitted even before the official call for submissions went out via facebook earlier today); but where there's a will, there's a way- and, if the outpourings of support and commendation that I have heard on numerous campuses is to be believed, my inbox ought to be full of submissions in just no time at all.
The prospective staffers I have interested in jobs are also very promising, and seem to me to hold a similar vision; and their competency is unquestionable. Two former editors from the Grub Street publication have expressed interest in taking positions with us, and even George Hahn, the head of the English Department here at Towson U, has expressed sincere interest in coming on as an academic advisor. Largely, it was Professor Hahn who gave me the encouragement to continue along the path to turning a few half-formed ideas into what is turning into a concrete reality; and for this he has my gratitude.
Also, I am sincerely thankful to all of the people who have expressed their support and encouragement, who have pledged to submit stories and articles and poems, who have merely thought it to be a good idea even if they have no literary tendencies themselves.
It is my firm belief that Towson, and indeed Baltimore as a whole, is ready for a fresh, young literary scene. It is the 'the city that reads'... what other city's football team is named after it's hometown writer? The Baltimore Ravens, of course, named as a reference to a Edgar Allen Poe short story from the 1800's ("'Nevermore' quoth the raven"); and their three Raven-mascots being named Edgar, Allen, and Poe. There are numerous liberal arts colleges in our city- Towson, Goucher, MICA and others with credited liberal arts programs such as Hopkins and Villa Julie and Loyola- and subsequently, a large number of young artists looking for a vehicle to convey their creative visions to the world. We can be that vehicle. It is a great way for this diaspora of maturing artists to get their names out into the wider world, but more importantly, it is also a way in which to unite the scattered tribes, to bring the disparate viewpoints together, and to create a literary scene wherein we can all feed off of each other's creative output, we can complement and accelerate one another's own works, and perhaps even come up with a conglomerated viewpoint that can be considered original, ground-breaking, even revolutionary. This is after all, what art is all about.
I will be posting and updating this blog as the project moves from its nascent into it's more mature phases, and will announce the final release date and publication from this site. I also hope that this will be a place where contributors, and those wishing to contribute, can come to check up on the progress of this vision as it turns into a reality. Thank you again for all of your support, all of you, and I greatly look forward to seeing those submissions rolling in.
Cheers,
BC
We live an era where individual perspectives are respected, probably for the first time in all of human history. The ethnic, religious, cultural and economic barriers are being largely being broken down, and people are coming into contact with more diverse and varying perspectives every day; why not stick them all together into the same magazine? I know that traditionally, such things have been slanted, being either traditional or liberal, conservative or egalitarian- we seek to encompass all as one. If every perspective is equally valid, or at least deserving of respect and tolerance, why not publish them all together? This seems to me to be the truest way to interpret reality- the smorgasborg of opinions and perspectives, the discursive and often contradictory elements that inspire debate, discourse, and action. Thus, we intend to publish just about anything that comes our way, viewpoints and slants be damned. This is our vision- one of egalitarian, democratic debate, with intrinsic respect given to all perspectives and interpretations of reality.
As of now, the magazine is without a title, without a concrete staff, and largely without submissions (my sincerest thanks to the notable few who have jumped the gun and submitted even before the official call for submissions went out via facebook earlier today); but where there's a will, there's a way- and, if the outpourings of support and commendation that I have heard on numerous campuses is to be believed, my inbox ought to be full of submissions in just no time at all.
The prospective staffers I have interested in jobs are also very promising, and seem to me to hold a similar vision; and their competency is unquestionable. Two former editors from the Grub Street publication have expressed interest in taking positions with us, and even George Hahn, the head of the English Department here at Towson U, has expressed sincere interest in coming on as an academic advisor. Largely, it was Professor Hahn who gave me the encouragement to continue along the path to turning a few half-formed ideas into what is turning into a concrete reality; and for this he has my gratitude.
Also, I am sincerely thankful to all of the people who have expressed their support and encouragement, who have pledged to submit stories and articles and poems, who have merely thought it to be a good idea even if they have no literary tendencies themselves.
It is my firm belief that Towson, and indeed Baltimore as a whole, is ready for a fresh, young literary scene. It is the 'the city that reads'... what other city's football team is named after it's hometown writer? The Baltimore Ravens, of course, named as a reference to a Edgar Allen Poe short story from the 1800's ("'Nevermore' quoth the raven"); and their three Raven-mascots being named Edgar, Allen, and Poe. There are numerous liberal arts colleges in our city- Towson, Goucher, MICA and others with credited liberal arts programs such as Hopkins and Villa Julie and Loyola- and subsequently, a large number of young artists looking for a vehicle to convey their creative visions to the world. We can be that vehicle. It is a great way for this diaspora of maturing artists to get their names out into the wider world, but more importantly, it is also a way in which to unite the scattered tribes, to bring the disparate viewpoints together, and to create a literary scene wherein we can all feed off of each other's creative output, we can complement and accelerate one another's own works, and perhaps even come up with a conglomerated viewpoint that can be considered original, ground-breaking, even revolutionary. This is after all, what art is all about.
I will be posting and updating this blog as the project moves from its nascent into it's more mature phases, and will announce the final release date and publication from this site. I also hope that this will be a place where contributors, and those wishing to contribute, can come to check up on the progress of this vision as it turns into a reality. Thank you again for all of your support, all of you, and I greatly look forward to seeing those submissions rolling in.
Cheers,
BC
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