On April 10, the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the student-run literary magazine, “Digressions”, with a release event from 4 to 6 p.m. in the second floor gallery of the Alvin Sherman Library.
The magazine, produced by the college’s Division of Humanities, is a compilation of student submissions in three categories: short fiction, poetry and visual art.
Managing editor and junior english major Katherine McInerny is confident that the anniversary issue is an improvement upon past issues.
“The work that we received displays the remarkable talents of Nova students, making it difficult to determine what will be published,” said McInerny.
According to Digressions adviser Suzanne Ferriss, professor in the Division of Humanities at the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, 17 prose and 16 visual art pieces were selected for publication out of the 115 submissions.
“Each year, the process becomes more professional and the student staff assumes greater responsibility for the process and the final product,” said Ferriss. “Our layout is more creative this year, and our efforts to invite submissions and gen-erate interest in the magazine have been more creative.”
Christine Jackson and Kate Waites, professors in the Division of Humanities at the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, held a workshop to provide Digressions editors with advice on editing and selecting the pieces of student work best suited for the publication.
Writers’ and artists’ names were withheld from submissions during the actual review process, and each piece received a score from one to five. The results were tabulated and the pieces with the highest scores were selected for publication.
“These are difficult decisions, for space constraints,” said Ferriss. “Not all submissions, even those that judged to be of high quality, can fit into the pages of the magazine.”
The magazine does not have a theme, but according to McInerny, the celebration of its 10th anniversary will be evident throughout the publication. Digressions will be available free of charge to all NSU students, faculty, staff and members of the community after the release event.
At the event, Digressions contributors and staff members will read selections of the published student poetry and short fiction. Photographs and paintings from the new issue will also be on display in the gallery, along with entries from this year’s cover-design contest and covers from the past nine issues.
Prizes will be awarded for the strongest submissions in each category, and a reception with light refreshments will follow. For more information about the Digressions magazine, contact Suzanne Ferriss at 954-262-8219.
