Student Jorin Copeland turns to his artwork featured in the 2017 Phoenix.

On May 16, Clark College’s award-winning art and literary journal, Phoenix, unveiled its 2017 edition at a reception in PUB 161. Taking inspiration from the Clark community, the Phoenix staff adopted the collegewide theme of Transformation for the new journal. Through more than 70 works of poetry, fiction, interviews, photography, paintings, and more, contributors’ pieces explore moments of change and growth.

At the reception, Clark student and Phoenix managing editor Megan Robb spoke of the personal challenges she has faced and how it inspired her to write a poem for the journal titled “Inner Reflection.”

“We have the choice to transform ourselves repeatedly, shedding the dark, hurtful pieces of our soul and regaining some beauty. This is what I was doing when I wrote this piece,” Robb said. “I had decided it was time to stop wallowing in the unfamiliarity I felt with myself and begin readying myself for change, for regeneration, a personal transformation that brought me to the doors of this college.”

Beyond the personal, transformation is a natural part of creating Phoenix, says fiction editor Ashlee Nelson. She spoke at the reception about the unique perspectives that each year’s students brings to the publication and the possibilities that arise when different creative minds collaborate.

“Whatever next year’s edition of Phoenix brings, it will be its own,” said Nelson. “It will represent Clark’s creative student body and their interests. It will be Clark at a moment in time before it transforms again, as students become alumni, and community members become students. There is something special about Phoenix in this way.”

The staff of the 2017 Phoenix. Faculty co-advisor Liz Donley (black jacket) stands in the center.

The Clark community is not the only one that recognizes how special Phoenix is—the journal recently won the National Program Directors’ Prize for design for undergraduate literary magazines by the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP).

Each year, AWP honors two national undergraduate journals with a content and a design award, and past winners have included journals from Columbia University, The New School, Kansas City Art Institute, University of Washington, and other prestigious institutions. This is the first time in a decade that the award has gone to a two-year college.

The judge for this year’s award, Lisa Noble, Creative Services Manager of Edelman Financial Services, wrote, “From cover to cover Phoenix stands out as an exemplary publication in design, quality, and concept . . . The publishers of Phoenix should feel very proud of what they’ve created. It is an important collaboration that succeeds in showcasing the diversity of talented individuals who chose Clark College to develop their craft.”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley. To see more photos from the event, visit our Flickr album.

The Clark College Columbia Writers Series is offering a full week of writers, readings, and events on the college’s main campus during its third annual Subtext Literary Festival. From May 15-18, the college will host well-known authors, as well as readings by Clark students and faculty.

All events are free and open to the public. Directions and maps are available online. Individuals who need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services (DSS) Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP). The DSS office is located in room 013 in Clark’s Penguin Union Building.

The Columbia Writers Series was launched at Clark College in 1988, bringing local, national and international authors to the college and the region. Information about the Columbia Writers Series is available at www.clark.edu/cc/cws.

Schedule

May 15, 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m., PUB 258B: “Possible Utopias” Writing Workshop

Arwen Spicer, an instructor in the English department, will lead this workshop, which will provide a fun opportunity to engage in guided writing and discussion about imagining bright futures for our world. Each participant will leave the workshop with a final piece of writing that outlines their vision for a better society. The workshop is free and open to the public. Although participants are encouraged to come for the full two hours, drop-ins are also welcome.

May 16, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., PUB 161: Phoenix Unveiling

Clark College’s national award-winning art and literary journal, Phoenix, will unveil its 2016-2017 edition with readings from student authors and free copies available for guests. The 2015-2016 edition of Phoenix just earned the prize for Best Design from the Association of Writers & Writing Programs—the first time the award has gone to a two-year college in a decade.

May 17, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., PUB 258A: Clark Crossings Student and Faculty Reading

Students and faculty will read from their own work or from the work of their favorite writers. Each reading will relate to the college theme of “Transformation,” and fiction, poetry, and memoir will all be included.                                                               

May 18, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., PUB 161: Fiction writer Peter Rock

Peter Rock is a professor of creative writing at Reed College. His most recent book is SPELLS, a novel-within-photographs that is a collaboration with five photographers and concerns shadows and bodies, the living and the dead, talking animals and all manner of shape-shifting. He is also the author of the novels Klickitat, The Shelter Cycle, My Abandonment, The Bewildered, The Ambidextrist, Carnival Wolvesand This Is the Place, and a story collection, The Unsettling.

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

The theme of the 2015 Phoenix was “the artist’s sketchbook.”

The 2015 issue of Phoenix, Clark College’s student-run arts and literary journal, was recently awarded first place in the Community College Humanities Association (CCHA) Literary Magazine Competition for the Pacific-Western Division.

“This is a first for us,” said Clark English professor and Phoenix faculty advisor Elizabeth Donley. “In 2013, we placed third as a magazine in the same division, and were delighted to do so. In the past, Phoenix has regularly been honored for the art and design of the magazine more than anything else. But the CCHA competition really focuses on the literary aspects of the journal. In many ways, this is the first significant award that honors the literary components of Phoenix.”

Several individual Clark students received recognition for their entries in Phoenix as well:

• David Powers, second place in Short Stories for “Gouge Away”
• W.R. Soasey, third place in Creative Nonfiction for “Not the Favorite”
• Trenelle Doyle, second place in Artwork for “The Perception Project”
• Matthew Harmon, third place in Artwork for “Empirical Being”
• Alan Logston, first place in Song for “Shades of Steel”
• Jeffrey Points, first place in Performance for “Project Spielberg”

The CCHA’s Pacific-Western Division includes community colleges in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming.

Over the course of its 34-year history, Phoenix has won many regional and national awards. Many students who work on it go on to pursue careers in writing or the arts. Jennie Avens, a former Phoenix editor who graduated from Clark with her Associate of Fine Arts in spring 2015, said working on the journal helped prepare her for a position as volunteer director for a nonprofit serving budding artists. “Working on Phoenix was an amazing experience that has opened me up to other career possibilities and taught me an abundance of things I use in my life as an artist,” she said.
Phoenix is available in an online format at clarkphoenix.com.

May 14 was a particularly artful day at Clark College, as the afternoon saw both the unveiling of the 2014 Phoenix as well as the opening reception and awards presentation for the 2014 Art Student Annual.

Mike Shank read his poem “Small Things Cost the Most.”

Phoenix staff distributed free copies of the award-winning annual arts and literary journal to students in PUB 161. Clark student Mike Shank read from his moving poem, “Small Things Cost the Most,” which earned Editors’ Choice Award for literary work in the journal. Afterward, guests headed downstairs to Archer Gallery to view works by student artists, many of whom also had work published in Phoenix. Seventy-five students showed a total of 127 works in the show, in media as varied as watercolor, photography, welded metal, ceramics, and video. Awards were announced and presented during the reception.

For more photos of these events, visit our Flickr albums of the unveiling and art show.

2014 Art Student Annual Awards

Joy Margheim “Gate”, welded sculpture
Best Welded Sculpture award
Sponsored by Airgas and the Clark College Welding Department

Irina Burchak “Self Portraits”, photography
Excellence in Photography Award
Sponsored by Knight Camera

The 2014 Phoenix staff.

Erin Merrill, “Columbia River Series”, photography
Excellence in Photography Award
Sponsored by Pro Photo Supply

Shelby Warner “Drawing Room Chair”, photography
Photography Award
Sponsored by Pro Photo Supply

Garry Bastian “The Act of Characterization”, photography
Darkroom Photo Award
Sponsored by Blue Moon Camera and Machine

Anthony Abruzzini “There’s Nothing Wrong with Having Only One Eye…”, drawing
Works on Paper Excellence Award
Sponsored by Frame Central Framing

Sherrie Masters “Greys”, watercolor
Works on Paper Excellence Award
Sponsored by Frame Central Framing

Students at the Phoenix unveiling waited patiently until the end of the program to open the paper wrapping around the new publication.

Jenny Avens “Flour Effect”, photography
Holga Camera Award
Sponsored by Freestyle Photographic Supplies

Lauren Dwyer “Organic Free Form”, ceramic
Best Ceramics Award
Sponsored by Georgie’s Ceramic and Clay Company

Luke Entwistle “Puntitled”, painting
Muse Art Award
Sponsored by Muse Art and Design

Krista Zimmerman “Self Obstruction”, painting
Muse Art Award
Sponsored by Muse Art and Design

Liz Alexander “Out of Place”, video
Film and Video Award
Sponsored by the NW Film Center

Anni Becker “John”, video
Film and Video Award
Sponsored by the NW Film Center

Director of IT Services, Phil Sheehan was the asked to juror the student show this year. He has been a supporter of student work throughout his time at Clark.

Riley Donahue, “The Day I Became a Man”, installation
Best Contemporary Art Award
Sponsored by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art

Belinda Luce “Type in The City”, typography
Best Graphics Award
Sponsored by Intel

Filip Popa “Matches”, painting
Painting Award
Sponsored by Dick Blick Art Materials and the Clark College Bookstore

Jeremy Crane “Germ Evolved”, painting
Painting Award
Sponsored by Dick Blick Art Materials and the Clark College Bookstore

Elise Cryder “Thank Your Mother”, painting
Best in Show Award
Painting Award
Sponsored by the Clark College Bookstore and the NW Film Center

After the awards are presented, students had an opportunity to talk to each other about their work.

Mariah Lewis “Muse”, painting
Painting Award
Sponsored by the Clark College Bookstore

Martin Stone “Still Life #2”, painting
Painting Award
Sponsored by the Clark College Bookstore

Megan Ostby “30 Minute Pose”, drawing
Drawing Award
Sponsored by the Clark College Bookstore

Jason Cardenas “The Island”, drawing
Drawing Award
Sponsored by the Clark College Bookstore

Lauren Pucci “Botany”, watercolor
Special Recognition Award
Sponsored by Kiggins Theater and Anna Banana’s Café

Grace Edwards “Sun Color”, watercolor
Special Recognition Award
Sponsored by Kiggins Theater and Anna Banana’s Café

Sara Robison “Hipster George”, digital illustration
Special Recognition Award
Sponsored by Kiggins Theater and Anna Banana’s Café

Matthew Caravaggio “Abstract Revelation”, drawing
Special Recognition Award
Sponsored by Kiggins Theater

Michael Jasso “For the Glory of Rome”, ceramics
Special Recognition Award
Sponsored by Kiggins Theater

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley 

The staff of the 2013 Phoenix posing during the journal’s unveiling in spring. Art professor Kathrena Halsinger, far right, is their advisor.

Congratulations to the staff of Phoenix. Clark’s literary and art journal just won third place in the Western-Pacific division of the Community College Humanities Association‘s 2013 Literary Magazine Competition.

“I think the quality of Phoenix is a reflection of the quality of the strong arts program that the college, and the greater community, continue to support,” says art professor and Phoenix advisor Kathrena Halsinger. “The arts are the stuff of life and therefore are relevant to all. We really work hard to be inclusive and get people across campus to be involved. We’ve also been fortunate to be supported by our departments and the ASCC to keep the program strong.”