Literary publications showcase student work
By Vanessa Raba
Contributing Reporter

Two university literary publications released their fall issues this week, showcasing creative works by students and scholarly articles by students and faculty.

Three to Four Ounces publishes student works of poetry, prose and art. The literary magazine solicited submissions from the campus at-large at the beginning of the semester.

The material is selected through a blind process in which every piece of work is stripped of its author and given a number.

Each submission is individually reviewed by the 26-student editorial board, the prose editor, the poetry editor, the art and photography editor, the editor in chief and the faculty adviser, Jane Mead, an assistant professor of English and the poet-in-residence.

During meetings, the group discusses each piece and votes on its inclusion in the magazine. Those submissions that receive the vote of the majority of the board are published.

“Our goal is to provide the campus with a quality publication that showcases unique and outstanding art and literature by Wake students,” said senior Brian Melton, the magazine’s editor in chief.

Melton described the selection process for this issue as “extremely intense.”

The editorial board received over 100 poems, 10 prose selections and 30 pieces of artwork. Of these submissions, they accepted seven poems, one prose piece and seven art pieces.

“There isn’t a set number of pieces that go in,” Melton said. “We publish the best we can find.”

The high volume of poetry received makes that part of the selection process particularly difficult.

“The criteria we use changes every time we pick up a poem,” Melton said. “I’m always looking for an honesty that makes me care about the poem.”

Three to Four Ounces will host a reception at 6 p.m. tonight in Tribble C216 to celebrate the release of the issue. Each author will read their published piece and display artwork from the magazine. Copies of the publication will be distributed throughout campus.

“This is one of the best magazines we’ve had yet,” Melton said.

The fall issue of The Philomathesian, a campus publication for scholarly writing in the liberal arts, debuted Dec. 4. “We try to get essay submissions on just about any topic that falls within the scope of academic writing or liberal arts in general,” senior John Bowman, the co-editor in chief, said.

The issue includes three articles by students – senior Lee Anne Quattrucci, sophmore George Fleeson and freshman Anjali Garg – as well as a submission from associate professor of history Michelle Gillespie.

“This is the first time in three or four years that we’ve had a faculty piece,” Bowman said.

The 12-member editorial board received 10 to 11 submissions this semester. After choosing four, they worked with the authors of each piece to revise them for publication.

“Generally we look for topics that are going to be interesting and appealing to a large number of students,” Bowman said.

Garg’s article focuses on Indian-American feminism and the unique challenges confronted by Indian-American women in trying to balance traditional and Western values. Unable to find substantial research on the topic, Garg, the American-born Indian daughter of immigrant parents, based the article largely upon her personal experience.

Bowman said that he hopes students will pick up one of the 1,500 copies of The Philomathesian available in residence halls. “We usually have copies leftover, but I really hope that people will pick up a copy this time,” Bowman said.