The Online Literary Magazine at Arizona State University
Superstition Review editors were happy to catch up with B.J. Hollars, Fiction Issue 6, and Michael Martone, Interview Issue 4.
B.J.’s essay “Fifty Ways Of Looking At Tornadoes” is forthcoming in Quarterly West.
Michael’s new book is Four for a Quarter. It is separated into four sections, with each section further divided into four chapterettes. The book returns again and again to its originating number, making chaos comprehensible and mystery out of the most ordinary.
SR‘s at AWP. And we’re looking for our past contributors. We’ll let you know who we find.
Several editors from Superstition Review will be live reporting on AWP Events from panels and hallways. Look for our coverage of topics such as:
#overheardatAWP
#tipsforwriters
#contributorbingo
#offsiteAWP
#panelquotes
#authorsightings
Haley Larson, Poetry Editor for Issue 3, received her Bachelors Degree in Psychology and with a minor in Music from the University of Nebraska. I took some time to catch up with her about her experience and how Superstition Review has helped shaped her future.
Superstition Review: Which issue did you work on with Superstition Review and what was your position?
Haley Larson: I worked on Issue 3 of Superstition Review. I was one of two poetry editors that year, and it was quite an opportunity. I had the chance to correspond with some esteemed poets, many of whom I’d admired for some time.
SR: What skills did you take away from the experience?
HL: I owe a lot of my confidence and tenacity to the Superstition Review internship. A huge part of the internship is learning to not only embody but also balance professionalism and confidence. I think such professionalism encompasses a whole mess of other skills: organization, prioritizing, meeting deadlines, even–can I say–eloquence in emails. The confidence translates into so many other outlets, whether this includes applying for graduate programs or submitting one’s own work to a literary journal. Trish was kind enough to grant me a wonderful opportunity to flex these skills at AWP’s most recent conference. I had the chance to be a part of a presenting panel with her and representatives from two other undergraduate literary magazines. She was (is!) a fantastic, generous mentor. The experience continues.
SR: Creatively, what are you currently working on?
HL: I am working on a few different projects, most obsessively, a couple of different series of poetry. I’m trying to explore/exploit some of my background in music and psychology through this, allowing music, sound/silence, communication, and disorder to talk and tangle in my work.
SR: What are some of your career highlights after leaving SR?
HL: I am currently pursuing my MFA degree in poetry at Colorado State University. I’ve had opportunities to teach at CSU, intern with the Colorado Review, and co-curate a student reading series. A few journals have been kind enough to publish a poem or two, even a couple of my reviews. A few colleagues and I are working to start a non-profit organization, The Strophe Project, aimed at forming and facilitating writing communities in underserved populations of Fort Collins. You can learn more at www.thestropheproject.wordpress.com.
April 7-10, 2010
Denver, Colorado
Hyatt Regency Denver & Colorado Convention Center
The Association of Writers and Writing Programs is holding its annual conference this week in Denver, featuring more than 400 events and presentations, including lectures, readings, book signings, panel discussions, and dances. The conference attracts more than 500 publishers and presses and thousands of attendees.
On Saturday, Superstition Review is taking part in a presentation about undergraduate-run literary magazines:
S182. Students who Build Things: The Literary Magazine as Teaching Tool for Undergraduate Students
Saturday, April 10, 1:30-2:45pm
Agate Room, Hyatt Regency Denver, 3rd Floor
(KC Culver, Collette Morris, Karen Craigo, Zach Tarvin, Patricia Murphy, Haley Larson)
We represent three undergraduate programs that have succeeded in establishing undergraduate-run journals. Prairie Margins publishes undergraduate students nationally in print; Superstition Review publishes both new and established writers nationally online; and Mangrove publishes the work of undergraduates at its university both in print and online. The panel will give practical advice on establishing effective leadership, facing budget constraints, submission management, and publishing options.
Intern Veronica Martinez interviews Elizabeth Anderson about what her challenges and rewards are as the Solicitation Coordinator for Superstition Review.
Veronica Martinez: What has your intern experience been like so far?
Elizabeth Anderson: Coming into the internship, I was expecting to do more of the tedious random assignments that no one else wanted to do and be treated like I did nothing for the magazine. There have been many deadlines and a lot of very stressful projects, but I have realized that I have been given a string of support that I can reach at any given moment. My favorite part has been the reading last week at ASU East because it was rewarding to see that the writers we contact do actually respond and are willing to give back to the community.
VM: Can you give us a short description of what your internship duties are?
EA: I am currently the Solicitations Coordinator. I searched for fiction, nonfiction, art, and poetry writers to add to our current Solicitations list. I contacted bookstores, Undergrad and Grad programs, libraries and more to send out the fliers to ask for submissions for issue 3. I am in charge of reminded the genre editors of their deadlines. I am currently working on adding names to our distributions list from people who attended the AWP conference.
VM: What are your hopes for the future, in regards to what you are learning through this internship experience?
EA: In regards to this internship, I am learning the basic skills of discipline and deadlines. I will be able to apply these skills to my dream of becoming a writer or an editor for a well-known magazine like Time or Life. I am learning how to be a committed intern, and have realized that there is a climb to get to the top. I hope that this internship will help me pursue my dreams and work hard for what I want. I hope to apply my new-found knowledge of the contemporary writers and the varieties of writing styles to my future work. Overall, this internship has been very inspiring.
VM: What’s one fun thing you can tell us about yourself?
EA: I am absolutely obsessed with the Twilight series. I am one of nine children. I plan to move to Seattle when finished with school. I am an Art History minor.
Superstition Review intern, Amber Mosure, comments on her experiences in development and funding.
When I found out I was accepted as an intern for Superstition Review, I was assigned the role of development and funding. My main tasks involve: researching grants, looking into outreach programs, and figuring out innovative ways of generating funding. Already, I’ve gained an exponential amount of knowledge. I feel like the captain of a ship embarking on new landscapes. Applying my own fervor and the past experiences of other English classes has propelled me forward, a little uncertain and uncharted at first, but prepared. I’m sailing along and figuring it out as I go, exploring all the terrain and territories of possible projects and ideas (and I’ve realized I have a penchant for alliteration too).
Recently I helped write a panel proposal for the Southwest Arts Conference. This conference is presented by the Arizona Commission on the Arts and will take place August of this year. SWAC’s theme is “Safety/Sustainability/The Future Is No Accident.” In these times, it is imperative that we create reasonable ways to sustain the arts and literature. Superstition Review does a wonderful job with that, especially, because we are a paperless publication. We encourage and nurture a diverse mix of self-expression and, hopefully, the Arizona Commission on the Arts will agree and invite us to their conference to interactively facilitate a brainstorming session to bounce around ideas for sustainability that will benefit a multitude of art and literature organizations.
Next task: a panel proposal for The Association of Writers and Writing Programs. I will take some of the ideas from the SWAC proposal and apply them to Superstition Review’s application to this event, slated to take place April 2010 in Denver, Colorado. I’m from Denver, so I know that the mile high city is conducive to creativity. I am certain the ideas will be flowing full-force.