GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
Expressionists, Pepperdine’s campus publication of literary and artistic works will be back up and running after a yearlong hiatus, with a new edition in spring 2006.
The journal, under the new direction of senior Katrina Spencer, will contain submissions by students, faculty and staff in the form of short fiction, poetry, essays and visual art such as digital aimages, photography and word art.
Spencer, who took over the operation this semester as editor, said she saw a need after Expressionists wasn’t published.
“I submitted things last year,” Spencer said. “I was disappointed the edition didn’t come out and I said, ‘Maybe if I’m on staff and get more involved, we can secure publication.’”
Spencer said this year’s journal will contain many of the works slated to go in Expressionists last year, so students won’t have missed out on the works that should have been published in 2004-05.
“This one will include everything from fall 2004 to spring 2006,” Spencer said. “It’s going to be a double issue, so there will be a lot more breadth.”
Student involvement has been an issue in the past, but a creative writing class taught by Dr. Michael Collins allows students a whole semester to write stories that have a chance of making the journal. Also, to get more students involved, one of the new features Spencer is hoping to install is a poetry reading by the authors in the journal.
“I want to hold something similar to a coffeehouse this semester and one next semester,” Spencer said. “People are welcome to come and read their poetry. It’ll have the same feel as the BSU (Black Student Union) coffeehouse, just a different mode of expression.”
Spencer said any student, faculty or staff member can be published in Expressionists and the works can be in languages other than English as long as an English translation accompanies the work. She also said she hopes to open the publication up to alumni one of these days.
New to this year’s journal is a competition for cover art. Spencer would like students to stick within the theme of the journal, which will be based on the recent natural disasters.
“The theme is ‘East meets West,’” Spencer said, “keeping in conjunction with the tsunami and hurricanes Katrina and Rita.”
Students who want to get their hands on a copy of the journal will need to contact Spencer at her office, as the publication won’t be excessively printed.
“We’re going to have a limited supply,” Spencer said. “It doesn’t cost anything, but you have to express interest in it.”
Students interested in getting published in Expressionists can e-mail an attachment to expressionists056@yahoo.com.
11-10-2005