Katie Cerulle ’22
Features Editor
COVID-19 has shifted many aspects of Trinity College campus life. One unexpected shift in the social climate of campus is that students have been less able to display their creative and academic works with an audience. With all venues and public readings closed, showcasing student work has become almost an impossible feat. In order to combat this, five students from the English Department’s Student Advisory Board have come together to create the Trinity College Literary Magazine. Summer Dow ’22, Liz Foster ’22, Julianna Freeman ’22, Ayana Platt ’22, and Frank Orenstein ’22, with the help of faculty liaison Professor Christopher Hager, have spearheaded a new publication on campus in order to publicize creativity among the student body.
A developing idea for years, this magazine came to fruition in December 2020 through the work of many members of the Student Advisory Board. The group has had many meetings in order to prepare for their first issue, with over 23 pieces submitted to the magazine for review. The winter 2021 publication will include 9 works of poetry, 2 fiction pieces, and 2 nonfiction literary papers to come out Mar. 20 in an online only format.
These numerous meetings between the editors have been dedicated to reviewing received works and working with accepted authors to revise and finalize their submissions, as well as bettering the experience of readers and authors on their newly formed website. “This website will be an extension of Trinity’s English Department and will include more than just creative works; events, interviews, and student engagement activities are also going to be featured,” Dow remarked.
Dow informed the Tripod of her great excitement in beginning this new publication within the Trinity community. “I am excited for students in English classes and beyond to have a platform for their work to be recognized,” Dow explained. “They also have a platform to publish their work in a more informal way outside of competitions parented by non-Trinity organizations.” Additionally, she described the power that writing has on improving the connections within the Trinity community. “Throughout COVID, campus culture has become isolated,” she observed, “but having an online publication like this magazine can bring campus back together even while we are still apart.”
In addition to a live website, the group also plans to advertise their magazine through an Instagram account, posters, and other digital forums to gain interest and viewership for posted submissions. Going forward, the periodical will be released quarterly: fall, winter, spring, and summer. Thus, new work will also be accepted quarterly. In late March, the journal will also be hosting a Zoom reading of the work of authors from the winter edition of the publication.
This is a good opportunity for interested applicants to get examples of other work and ask questions if necessary. Additionally, the spring publication for the Literary Magazine is accepting new submissions until Apr. 9, 2021. In the following quarters, instructions on how to submit work will be available through the English Department Instagram, @trincollenglish, and on their website. Students interested in submitting works of poetry, short stories, or nonfiction literary academic writing can send their writing to literary-magazine@trincoll.edu.
The email address is literary-magazine@trincoll.edu