traveling

Meet the Interns: Lynda Farrell, Content Coordinator

Superstition Review

lyndafarrell_0Content Coordinator, Lynda Farrell, is a senior at ASU West majoring in Political Science and English.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR? Please list job activities/explanation.

Lynda Farrell: I’m the Content Coordinator, which basically means that I make sure that everything that is supposed to make it in the final product, makes it in the final product, and doesn’t get lost somewhere along the way. And I keep it all organized while I’m at it.

SR: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

LF: This is my first time working with Superstition Review, and I heard about this internship from Professor Murphy, right after taking her Poetry 310 class.

SR: What is your favorite section of SR? Why?

LF: The art section, because I love seeing the different examples of people’s interpretations of life.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal?

LF: Probably Taylor Mali (look up his work on YouTube), because I think he’s very, very clever. At the very least an interview would be interesting from him.

SR: What job, other than your own, would you like to try out in the journal?

LF: I think I would like to try out the Photoshop Editor’s position. While I’m not great at Photoshop, I like what I’ve done on the program before.

SR: What are you most excited for in the upcoming issue?

LF: Seeing how it all comes together. I know that’s kind of a weak answer, vague, but it’s really my favorite part of a project. I love the feeling of accomplishment at the end of something I and many others have worked hard on.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

LF: Oh, wow. Probably my first book, Let’s Pretend. It was the first time I was able to read on my own, and it opened a whole new avenue, a whole new universe. My mom’s favorite story to tell about my childhood is the entire year where I walked around with that book, until it fell completely apart. I was devastated.

SR: What are some of your favorite websites to waste time on or distract you from homework?

LF: huffingtonpost.com. It’s a news site that, well, leans left. The best part is the way it’s organized; I can see each story and choose which ones I want to pick, or I can choose to read only the US Politics site, or only the World Politics site, or Health, or Entertainment. Not every story on each makes it to the main page, but I have to say I’m on that site more than once a day, usually. Great for learning about the world and time killing.

SR: What would be your dream class to take at ASU? What would the title be and what would it cover?

LF: Okay, there’s two that I’ve always wanted to see listed, but never have. The first is Underwater Basket Weaving, because although I’ve always heard it as a saying about how easy some classes are, I think it would be really difficult, and really interesting. I mean, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve never done any kind of craft project underwater. It would at least be an experience. Other than that, I would want to take a history class about Women in the Renaissance, or maybe something about how there have been values placed on women in most cultures and times.

SR: What are your feelings on digital medium?

LF: I have massively mixed feelings about digital media. On one hand, it’s a great tool for connecting quickly and efficiently. On the other hand, it has cut out a lot of personal interaction, leaving people sadly lacking in people skills. I love my Kindle because it is easier to take while traveling, it takes less raw material from the earth, and the books end up being less expensive (and my bookshelves stop looking like a disaster area); but there is absolutely no replacement for being able to hold a new book, smell it, and just feel the tactile sensation that reminds me of all that I loved in childhood. I will say that I had absolutely no problem replacing CDs and tapes with my iPod. Not a single qualm.

Lights, Camera, Action…the great Superstition journey.

Superstition Review

Last weekend, I lived a microcosm of the Great American Journey, sitting in the passenger seat of a car as it sped through the vast desert, cruising along the highways. On such a drive, the mind begins to wander and ramble; actual turns and direction-seeking are infrequent. You find yourself in tune with the clear repetition of lines on the road; yellow black curves and dashes. There are hours to just watch the road and saguaros pass by, and in that trek things begin to fall into place.

I thought it was going to be a brief vacation, a break away from all of this stress and academia. Yet, in the midst of this desert, a familiar landmark filled my horizon.

The Superstition Mountain Range loomed in the distance.

Well, I thought to myself, it’s watching over me. I can zoom throughout any desert, across any roads and travel forever, but I’ll never be able to escape myself. My duties, my works and so forth, will always be a part of me. The rest of the weekend was spent in Eden, and was likewise beautiful.

And now we find ourselves all facing down the inescapable beauty of those mountains.

Our release date is urgent and soon. Our last reading was last night, featuring undergraduate creative writing students and a beautiful Fiesta Veggie Strata featuring produce from our allies, the Poly Harvest CSA.

Likewise, you might see on the side of this page that our Blogroll has been updated with links to other journals. The time for change and release is now. We are ready for you, readers. Are you ready for Superstition Review?

Memories and Superstitions…

Superstition Review

As I walk along the streets of Arizona, I note a few things; the vast blue skies, the reaching prickly cacti, the moody heat, and the ever-present embrace of the mountains. And though I have travelled the world, more than anything, it is these mountains I find that I can never forget. But as a result of their eternal consistency, I tend to forget that other people don’t have the mountains over their shoulder, at their beck and call, the way life in in the Valley makes you think.

As a younger, more innocent student a few years back, I took a study abroad trip to Spain with the University. My favorite city in the world, as a result, is Granada, home of La Alhambra, gypsies, narrow winding streets and copious historical cathedrals. Fantastic as it was to be swept off my feet quite literally by an exuberant gypsy for a round of impromptu flamenco, what expanded my mind most about that outing was the long bus ride home.

Our motley crew of ASU students was joined by a class from New York on the Granada leg of the trip. On the ride home, we’d began to mingle and discuss our new shared experiences. A young blond man next to me sat gazing thoughtfully out the window. I asked if he was okay…if anything was preoccupying him.

“Nothing…I’m just looking at the mountains…”

“Oh,” I said, and glanced out the windows. And then I noticed, a stark expanse of desert and mountains. It suddenly hit me, on the other side of the world, “It looks like home.”

“We don’t have ’em in New York. I’ve never seen so many before.”

And I can’t help but be surrounded by the mountains here, in the desert of Spain, on Tempe Campus, in the banner for this Superstition Review (of the Superstition Mountain range), and I realize how lucky and rare my life has been to be able to call the Valley home.

We invite you to join us for a while; keep reading, keep submitting, and tell us about your home.