Writers can be found in any of your classrooms. See that redhead in the front row of your Chemistry class? She dabbles in poetry. The blue-eyed boy in your English Literature class wrote a short story just yesterday about a young boy who wants to be an astronaut. I wrote a poem about visiting the zoo last week.
Biology majors, history majors and engineering majors are writers and poets – not just English majors know how to move their pen in a pleasing manner. Do you fancy yourself a writer? The Kudzu Review, FSU’s Undergraduate Journal of Literature and Art, is currently calling for submissions for its Spring 2017 publication. They publish poetry, fiction, nonfiction and visual artwork created by undergraduate students! You can submit up to three poems, short stories up to 15 pages long and up to five pieces of visual artwork. If you are interested in submitting your work to the journal, you have got to act fast – the deadline is quickly approaching! The Kudzu Review will no longer be accepting submissions after October 13, 2016, at 5 p.m. sharp. Find more information and submission guidelines on the Kudzu Review website.
Leesa Love, the Editor-in-Chief of the literary journal, has this to say about the student-run publication: “The Kudzu Review is an amazing publication because it allows undergraduates the opportunity to gain real experience on both sides of publishing. Students run every aspect, from advertising, acquisitions, and editing to design and layout. And of course, it allows students to see their work published. As an aspiring editor, the best aspect about Kudzu is that I will graduate with a tangible publication in my portfolio!”
If you do not want to submit your work, but would like to still get involved, apply to become an Editorial Assistant with the Kudzu Review! Find out more information on how to get involved on Kudzu Review’s website.
Want to write, but are nervous to start? Don’t be. All you have to do is pick up a pen and start. Toni Morrison, author of Beloved, said, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” Another great American novelist, Ernest Hemingway, says this of writing: “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” Whether you write down a few lines of verse that pop up in your head, or you sit down and a short story spills out of you, your mind is full of beautiful ideas that are dying to escape. Maya Angelou, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, said that “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” So get writing! Here are a few fun journaling prompts to get you started:
- Write about a favorite memory.
- Write a letter to your 16-year-old self.
- If you could start your life over, what three things would you change?
- Which book influenced your life?
- Describe the days of the week as if they were people
Happy writing, collegiates!