By CJ Shaleesh
What does New Literati do?
According to the organizations president, “New Literati is a literary magazine that allows for students to meet creative peers and showcase their work.” This organization provides a platform for creatives to discuss, share, and formulate the dialogues they want to have published. Since they are primarily web-based, the perspectives are representative of the St. Edward’s community reach a global audience.
What do you get out of participating in New Literati?
New Literati engages in a multitude of activities. The most common is their weekly meeting. Their meetings are open to anyone looking to become a part of their staff. They have two general types of meetings: discussion-based and editing workshops. The discussion-based meetings are used to set deadlines, plan events, and talk to contributors about their potential submissions. Editing workshops are done after a deadline. It is here where the entire editorial staff edits each piece, makes comments and sometimes even has one-on-one discussions contributors.
These various meetings are what ultimately results in their final products. The first product is the website; which is where the work of the staff lives. Staff have the opportunity to submit their work at least two times a semester and, at most, once a month. Besides the website, New Literati takes submissions to anyone who is or has attended St. Edward’s twice a year to create semester issues. The issue in the Fall semester is a digital magazine that is posted on the website. In the Spring semester, they create a print issue.
Beyond making the website and print issues, New Literati also does a few events a year. At least once a year, they make some sort of art piece or interactive mural with the help of the St. Edward’s community. The most recent has been a hanging string piece displayed outside the art building and a poster with the words “Lean on me” filled out by the signatures the St. Edward’s community. The intention behind these pieces promotes hope and campus unity. Other events New Literati does includes notebook sales and sticker and succulent sales. All sold products are either made or supplied by the staff. New Literati is also open to collaborating with other organizations for events. Their most recent collaboration was done with Students for Sustainability. They co-hosted a writing contest with the theme of the environment.
What does New Literati contribute to the St. Edward’s community?
New Literati provides a place for creatives to come together. Even though there is a hierarchy within the staff, they make sure that your voice is heard and that everyone feels comfortable.
This group meets every week on Wednesday nights. The members want everyone to know that anyone is welcome and “we allow students to come to our meetings whenever they please,” according to a current member. Those who become part of the staff are said to be inviting, helpful, and dedicated to a platform that allows their voices to be heard.
A large aspect of this magazine is to move beyond the constraints of solely being viewed as a publication. New Literati also wants to be an organization that encourages and helps individuals pursue their own creative growth. New Literati’s president says that “We let students explore any topic in their work, and we let students try new things if they want to.”
How can students get involved?
To find out more information about how to get involved with New Literati email submit.new.literati@gmail.com or check out their website or Facebook page.