Hi everyone!
I can’t believe there’s less than a month of school left! I’m definitely feeling the senioritis, but I’m trying to push through and appreciate my last couple of classes along with all the fun events happening on campus right now! For me, some of my favorite on and off-campus events are the literary magazine launch parties that happen almost every weekend in the spring. This year, I was fortunate enough to help run and participate in the earthwords launch party for Issue 45, and it really made me think about my time at the University of Iowa and the major influence that literary magazines have had on my growth as a student.
For those of you who don’t know, one of the things I’m most proud of is how involved I’ve been with literary magazines for the past four years. As soon as I stepped foot on campus, I got involved with Ink Lit magazine, which is a first-year-only literary magazine. This publication is considered a stepping stone for freshmen students who are interested in either working on a magazine’s staff or having their work published within their first year. Somehow, I did something right, and I was trusted with the position of being the Editor in Chief! From there, I led team meetings, handled deadlines, brainstormed event ideas, advertised to the community, and championed the team to a successful launch party. After that, I knew how much I loved literary magazines and that I wanted to continue working on one for my next three years. However, I was no longer a first-year student, so it was time to say goodbye to Ink Lit and pick a new magazine to join and work on.
The University of Iowa has a dozen literary magazines on campus (if you’re curious, you can find a list of all of them here), but I found myself applying for earthwords. I really liked how earthwords had the legacy of being the oldest literary magazine on campus, and that it was unthemed, so any piece could be published regardless of what it was about. So, I applied, interviewed, and joined the staff as a nonfiction editor! I absolutely loved working with the nonfiction team, and together, we were tasked with reading submissions, running events, proofreading, and helping to communicate, build, and uphold the earthwords mission.
My second year flew by, and I absolutely loved my time on earthwords, so I decided to stay on staff for my third and fourth year. Because I had such a passion for the magazine and I wanted the chance to take on more responsibility, I applied to be on the executive team as the managing editor, and I was lucky enough to be picked for the challenge. As the managing editor for two years, I’ve supported two separate executive editors, taken notes during meetings, budgeted spending for travel conferences, helped plan/run events, and adapted to fast deadlines when staff members needed more support. I also loved that being in a leadership role gave me the chance to take on special projects! My first project ended up being a DEI open mic at the LatinX cultural house, and my second project was planning a trip to Los Angeles for my team to participate in a writer’s conference. Both were huge successes, and now we’re at the point where I’ve reached the end of my fourth year and I’m about to say goodbye to earthwords and the literary magazine community at Iowa.
At our earthwords launch party, I was truly floored by how many people came to support the contributors, staff members, and the magazine legacy. As I stood on the side of the venue and watched everyone admire the magazine, read their pieces, and celebrate with coffee and cake, I was hit with so much bittersweetness and nostalgia. The literary community has been my home for the past four years, and I’m proud of the mark I’ve left behind as a staff member and a writer. As I watched the crowd in front of me, I knew for sure that I was leaving the magazine legacy in good hands.
I’m so so sooo grateful for everything that the literary magazine community has provided me. I’ve gained hands-on publishing experience, built a community of life-long friends, and learned so much about myself and how I can make change in the literary world. I’ve built up my resume with tangible experience to bring into the workforce, and now, I can officially say I’m a published writer since I’ve been published all across campus!
If you’re a prospective student who wants to get published, be part of a writing community, or just want to enjoy writing in all its forms, I highly recommend getting involved with an on-campus literary magazine at the University of Iowa. The people and the staff who champion these magazines are some of the hardworking and talented people, and I’m so lucky to call them my best friends.
If you join, you won’t regret it. Promise.
