GLYPH 2015

Posted by Nicholas Beckman in Creative Writing

The Glyph team set to unveil this years publication at the Gala on May 5. Photo by Ashley Costello

When discussing hiccups for this year’s production of Glyph—the literary magazine produced each spring by the Creative Writing and Literature Department—the class of eight was hard-stretched to find anything negative in their almost two semesters of work gathering written pieces ranging from fiction to poetry to creative nonfiction.

“All of our contention was outward not inward,” said senior Leticia Gonzales, who expressed—along with her classmates—that this year’s Glyph ran more seamlessly than ever before.

CWL Co-Chair Matt Donovan, who teaches the Glyph class, concurred, describing this year’s process as the “most harmonious professional Glyph I’ve worked on for sure.” The end result? “I’ve never seen an undergraduate journal look this beautiful anywhere,” Donovan said.

Glyph 2015 will be unveiled at the Glyph Gala, 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 5 in O’Shaughnessy Performance Center.

Nick Martinez, editor in chief of the 2015 edition of Glyph literary magazine. Photo by Ashley Costello

Jackalope staffer and Glyph Editor-in-Chief Nick Martinez spoke to Jackalope about the extensive process of gathering submissions, which mostly came from Creative Writing students, although submissions were open to students campus wide. Though Martinez’ position involved a certain amount of authority and delegation, Martinez was quick to acknowledge the extensive work of his editors, namely Glyph veteran Jaycee Ellis, a fellow senior in the CWL department.

Ellis discussed the often numbing process of editing and delegation of responsibilities, noting that the reward is touching the book itself.

“Then you actually get to hold the Glyph and it’s unveiled,” says Ellis.  “It’s like a grand thing.”

Fellow Glyph staffer Brandon Brown—who also had previous experience working on the publication, agreed. “I don’t think we get to do that often enough,” added Brown, “to hold our work and see it in the world—it’s nice.”

While the work on Glyph is extensive, the staff agreed that sequencing the stories within Glyph was undoubtedly the most enjoyable part of the process.

“In the sequencing of the Glyph, we try to tell a story,” Martinez said. “We try to have each story trapeze into each other.” Martinez noted that while the theme of this year’s Glyph is rather dark, its structure will allow readers to see past the darkness. “It’s like a glimmer of light at the end.”

While reluctant to reveal too much information on how the cover art for the book will look, the Glyph class gave repeated praise Sandra Duran, a graphic design student who spearheaded the project. In reference to the writing department’s cohesive collaboration with the graphic design department, Ellis gave the viewer something to look forward to at the unveiling event Tuesday. “There is nothing else like this in the writing department,” she said.

In addition to readings by this year’s Glyph award winners—and the unveiling of the journal itself—the Gala will feature refreshments, food and music.

Glyph Staff:

Bisi Ademulegun, Brandon Brown, Melinda Freudenberger, Leticia Gonzales, Andrew Koss, Marina Woollven, Jaycee Ellis and Nick Martinez. 

Meeting of the minds to set final arrangements for the Glyph Gala.

Awards include:

Fiction:

1st Place: Bonnie Burchfield

2nd Place: Brandon Brown

3rd Place Charlotte Martinez

Honorable Mention: Brianna Neumann

Non-Fiction:

1st Place: Bonnie Burchfield

2nd Place: Leticia Gonzales

3rd Place: Brianna Neumann

Poetry

1st Place: Serafima Fedarova

2nd Place: Bailey Schaumberg

3rd Place: Marjorie Solo

Honorable Mention: Franco Romero

Best New Voice

Zoe Baillargeon

Top secret Glyph materials. Photo by Ashley Costello