Organizing a Reading

After completing my class visits, which consisted of creative writing classes, handing out handbills, giving a quick breakdown of the publication efforts of WCC to get their students published both on-line and in-text, and actually participating in the classes creative writing workshops as an experienced writer and creative writing student, I began to plan an open-mic with a feature.

First, I approached Tom about having this reading at the WCC Writing Center and Tom seemed excited about it. He told me that he could get a PA system and a mic and that we could schedule it on a Friday night after the Writing Center closed for students.

My next problem was finding a feature who would perform for little to no payment. After scowering my brain for people who I would like to do a poetry reading, I drew a blank. However, I remembered that my brother, a former EMU Creative Writing major, has been doing open-mic performances for singers/songwriters. I asked him if he would consider doing a set of music and poems and he agreed.

The date was set for the Friday November 22nd.

The next thing I had to do was read through all of the submissions and to begin constructing a zine.

Hours:

11/8/13

1.5 Hour planning event

Constructing the Book

Well, it's done...and I think it looks great!

It took many hours of trial and error, but with the help of Tom and a little bit of online research, I put together my first publication as an editor.

This was the first text based publication of the online zine known as The Big Windows Review

I faced quite a few challenges with constructing the zine.

First, I had to aggregate the submissions in an easily accessible document.  For this, I used google drive and google docs to move all the submissions into one, easily accessible document. Then, I had to decide on order in the book. For this, I used theme and transitional movements within the poems according to sound, weight, length and overall tone.

I also had no experience putting together a chap book in Microsoft Publisher. It presented many difficulties with form and how to organize a text. The layout is similar to most small chap books. It is organized in pages of two, but the way that you overlay texts onto the pages is very sensitive and required a lot of focus.

After 2 hours of building the text, I was about 1/3 of the way through the processes when something catastrophic happend. I somehow deleted the whole document without any backups accessible. All of my work was obliterated.

Take two, I spend another 4 hours putting the book together and finally I have something worth publishing. Tom  looked it over and made a few changes.

Hours:

11/13/13

1 hour aggregating and organizing submissions
2 hours wasted building the document which was delted
4 hours redoing and completing the document

Outreach

After reading Black Automaton

I thought deeply on the construction of the literary journal that I will be arranging. Since I cannot discriminate on the submissions, I must evaluate how I will arrange the texts/images to create a document that doesn't stagnate the form of "literary journal." 


Kearny's use of {} and bracketing deconstructs the formulaic nature of print publishing and embraces a more radical construction of a text. His ability to create a readable and visualized text inspire me to consider the broader implications of digesting art 

I want to make a book worth reading
I want my readers to enjoy my publication
I want a love poem, a sad poem, and a somewhat confusing poem 

These are thoughts that limit my ability to approach my work in a more engaging manner. 

I want to make a visual document
I want read and see a new thought or feeling
I want to break the page and manipulate ink

Tom and I have been going to classes to solicit submissions for the journal. We have a core group of writers who occasionally submit for WCC's literary works, but I want to broaden this audience.

When we go to a class,the focus is to get people interested in seeing their work inked into a page. We present chap books and zines we have previously published and this usually entices people. I wonder, though, how often they have thought of seeing their name as the author of something and how boring it can be to be an author--to be just another name in an anthology. 

I would like to try to convey the need for submissions that are not so easy to write. Submissions that do not submit. I would like to see texts which are more difficult to swallow or to interpret. 

But I must dedicate myself to the work which I recieve and do my best to use the skills I've learned from EMU's creative writing department. I have developed a new approach to texts and I must be honest in my appraisal of how much I can do to take a journal/chap book, and turn into a engaging source of writing, reading, and seeing.

Next week will mark an end to our submission processes and I will begin sorting through submissions. 

Cheers!  

Hours:

10/16/13

1.5 hours class visit

10/18/13

1.5 hours class visit