Student stories: Flying with a Phoenix

My name is Lily Hart, and I am a student at Clark College. I’m also the Managing Editor of Phoenix and was Assistant Literary Editor last year. Phoenix is Clark College’s award-winning literary and art journal. Run by student editors and faculty advisers, it publishes work from Clark College students, faculty and alumni—mostly students. We publish in print and online, and accept a wide array of work including fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, ceramics, design work, music, and dramatic recitals. You can go online at clarkphoenix.com to get a full list. This year, Phoenix is proud to introduce a new category: graphic novels.

I am hoping that this post will give you insight into the behind-the-scenes process of Phoenix—and will maybe prompt you to submit something to the journal yourself!

Right now, the 2016 Phoenix is just finishing up its pre-production phase. Here are a couple little tidbits about the early stages that many people aren’t aware of. Clark offers a three-credit class in the fall – Intro to Literary Publication. In this class, students work on marketing and promotions; interview plans and strategies; and editing 101. If you are curious about some of the work done in the class, take a look at the promotional posters going up around campus, as well as a slide in the Gaiser Student Center: We created all of those in our class, and it’s fun to be able to see our “homework” on display all over campus. We have a class of 16 students, and everyone is enthusiastic about the work we’ve started.

One of my classmates in Intro to Literary Publication, Rowan Walters, is Phoenix’s Poetry Editor. “Starting in the class and progressing to the staff has made me feel valuable, both to the campus of a school I love as well as to society in general,” she says.

I would definitely agree with this. For me, one of the other highlights of being involved is getting to know a lot of amazing people with similar interests. It’s a nice community feel.

You also get real-world experience in being an editor, gaining organization skills and managing projects, which are all perfect skills for today’s job market. As Jennie Avens, our Fine Arts editor from 2015 and again staff for 2016, says, “Working with this team was a great practical experience that gave me a sneak peek of what to expect if I get into publishing after graduation.” Whether a student’s career goals lie in editing and the arts, or in something completely different, the skills gained from being on Phoenix gives are always applicable.

Another thing which I’m really excited about is the awards Phoenix has won. In 2014, the journal won first place in the American Scholastic Press literary and art journal competition, and individual student work won as well. Last year, (when I was involved, so this is super exciting!) it won the 2015 Washington Community College Humanities Association’s Large Budget Literary/Arts Magazine of the Year, and the Community College Humanities Association award for first place Literary Journal. This is a huge deal for us because we have never won that award before.

Remember, submissions are open to the entire college community–students, faculty, staff and alumni–and the submission deadlines are January 9 for literature, January 19 for art, and February 29 for video. Visit clarkphoenix.com to find out more about how to submit your work. We hope to see your submissions!

This article was contributed by Clark student Lily Hart.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley