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What You Need to Know About Cadenza, Conn’s Literary and Arts Magazine

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Conn Coll chapter.

Every year, Cadenza, Conn’s literary and arts club, publishes a magazine full of students’ submissions of any and everything creative. If you’re looking for a new club that encourages creativity by carving out time in our weekly meetings (bi-weekly this year due to COVID) to create and share something creative inspired by our creative prompts, you will definitely love this club. And as Cadenza’s president and as a senior, I want to share the club with all of you the club that has made my time at Conn so memorable.

And this year, Cadenza is accepting submissions until this Wednesday, April 28! This is my (shameless) plug for magazine submissions and everything you need to know about Cadenza.

Cadenza accepts ALL creative pieces as long as they are created by Conn students.

And when I say we accept all creative submissions, I mean it. Although we are known for creative writing submissions, the magazine is full of everything from songs and short stories to paintings and plays, as long as we have students willing to submit their work. The magazine is organized by pairing a piece of writing—poems, short stories, scenes from plays, song lyrics, sheet music—with a piece of art—photographs, paintings, drawings, comics, even graphic design—to create a cohesive selection of student creations that build upon each other. Check out some of the photography from last year’s magazine:

This year’s magazine will be online.

Unfortunately, due to COVID, Cadenza meetings were held remotely, and the magazine will not be published as a physical magazine. However, Cadenza’s website allows you to not only browse and celebrate the work from this year but also from past years. And we get to include longer pieces, which is super exciting. (And it’s doesn’t hurt that you can put “featured in a student-run publication” on your resume as well.) Being remote as also inspired Cadenza’s team to spice up their Instagram page, featuring everything from writing prompts to creativity themes and celebrations for literary and art holidays. Be sure to follow Cadenza @cccadenzamag for some inspiration!

Cadenza hosts and co-sponsors Conn’s Poetry Nights.

One of the most rewarding and successful events that Cadenza held this year were the Poetry Nights. Whether it was an open mic night or in honor of Black History Month, Poetry Nights were a space for sharing the love of poetry and creativity, with the lovely help of Reflexion, Conn’s spoken word club. I got over my fear of sharing my own original poems and of public speaking, so I can personally vouch for the inspiring atmosphere of these events. These events can include an open mic as well as alumni and professor readings, music clips, and videos from the YouTube channel Button Poetry, like Guante’s “Quicksand”.

Did I mention that you can still submit your work?

Cadenza’s not over yet! You can still submit creative pieces (past or current) until this coming Wednesday, April 28. Even if you aren’t planning on submitting to the magazine yourself, spread the word among your friends at Conn. If you do want to submit, you can send your pieces to cadenzamag@gmail.com.

Are you convinced that you should join Cadenza yet? I hope so! Even though Cadenza is winding down for this year, we hope that you will check out our magazine when it goes live in early May—our Instagram will have a countdown for the magazine’s release—and that you will join Cadenza next year when we resume in-person, with weekly meetings held in KB, Poetry Nights (with a free tab) at Coffee Grounds, art-book-and-music inspired trivia nights, and more exciting events to come.

Elizabeth, originally from just outside of Chicago, is a senior graduating early from Connecticut College where she is majoring in English with Psychology and History minors. She has an insatiable appetite for a compelling story and hopes to use that passion to pursue a career in publishing in a big city. If she’s not reading or writing another essay, she is binge-watching a new TV series, scrolling through Pinterest, baking cookies, or hanging out with family and friends.
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