By Emily Leayman
Update: The Essence readings were updated since the last issue printed. The new dates and locations are listed in the article below.
For writers and artists of all majors, several clubs and organizations are kicking off the fall semester with meetings and events. The English department has several student-run publications while other organizations allow students to share their work and encourage them to publish.
The two literary magazines are Shoofly Literary Magazine and Essence Fine Arts and Literary Magazine. Both magazines print in the spring and accept submissions in the fall.
Shoofly is currently accepting fiction, poetry and drama submissions for the spring 2015 issue, according to Professor Jeffrey Voccola, Shoofly’s adviser. The publication is also seeking submissions for a front cover created in InDesign. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 15. For submission guidelines, students can email Voccola at voccola@kutztown.edu or pick up a flier on the professional writing table outside Lytle 132.
Shoofly holds meetings Thursdays at 11 a.m. The first meeting is Sept. 18. All students that are interested in joining or learning about Shoofly are welcome to attend. Shoofly holds poetry readings every semester including at the magazine’s launch in the spring. The dates for readings will be announced.
Essence magazine publishes fiction, poetry and visual art. According to Sam Benning, one of Essence’s editors, the magazine is holding three open poetry and prose readings at 7 p.m. on Sept. 18 and Oct. 15 in the Old Main concourse and Nov. 20 in MSU 250. Essence meets Tuesdays at 11 a.m. in MSU 195.
The Keystonia is a yearbook-turned-nonfiction magazine. For more information on submitting, email the Editor, Dillon Sickler.
The Keystone is KU’s school newspaper. Meetings are held each Monday at 6 p.m. in MSU 194. Emily Leayman is the editor-in-chief.
Other groups, such as English Club, meets every other Tuesday at 11 a.m. in Lytle 206, will hold writing workshops on Oct. 6 and 7 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., according to the President of English Club, Taryn Gehman. The next meeting is Sept. 23.
“Through the writing workshops and bi-weekly meetings, we are hoping to spur peer editing and discussions of both published works as well as our own writing,” said Gehman.
Other English Club events include visiting Grim’s Greenhouse for apple picking and a Robert Frost poetry reading on Oct. 10, the Edgar Allen Poe House in Philadelphia on Oct. 25 and a trip to New York City for a Broadway show on Nov. 22. The club will also read Margot Livesey’s “The House on Fortune St.” before the author comes to campus on Oct. 16.
Clock Face is a creative writing group that involves completing writing exercises, sharing writing and holding discussions. The activities held are based on what the club members decide. This club does not publish student-written pieces but encourages them to publish in Shoofly or Essence. Clock Face meets Tuesdays at 6 p.m. in the Rohrbach Library, computer lab 16. For more information, contact Emily Reitz, the club’s president, at kuclockface@gmail.com.
Students can always join more than one club.