By: LATORIA LAND
Staff Writer
lnland@IUSB.edu
The undergraduate research conference is an exciting time for students, and faculty alike.
The event provides students with the platform to showcase their work and abilities. Every year undergraduates and graduates are afforded the opportunity to submit publications to participating publishers such as, IU South Bend Undergraduate Research Journal, IU South Bend Undergraduate Research Journal for History, New Views on Gender, and the Analecta Literary Journal. These journals work throughout the semesters to ensure that the scholarly work happening at IU South Bend receives its just recognition.
Analecta Literary Journal has just wrapped up their 45th issue, but their publication continues to grow stronger with each passing year. The journal received 146 pieces of work by their Jan. 31, 2015 deadline, spanning from various genres of poetry, art, short stories, dramas, non-fiction essays, and plays.
“IU South Bend has an amazing creative writing faculty and I think this book does the students and staff justice,” shared editor Chad Forbregd.
The outpouring of support and submissions makes the task of determining what entries get accepted into the journal all the more difficult for the judges. This year’s judging panel worked through a process of blind submissions. The process allowed judges to rely solely on instinct and the pieces themselves while taking the emphasis off of the artist behind the work.
This approach helped the journal’s staff to bring the magic of the arts to life in their most recent publication.
“There was something very organic or natural how this year’s issue came together,” Forbregd said.
The panel selected about 55 pieces of work for their 2015 issue. It contains 92 pages of engaging artwork that takes the reader on a literary journey. The artist submitted work with alternating tones, moods, and expressions that moves the minds of the audience from light to dark, happy to sad. The journal’s editor is a poetry native, and he revealed feelings of being attentive with the poetic pieces, as well as being extremely pleased with the overall submissions this year.
Anyone looking to participate in the conference for the future can find more information at iusbanalecta.wordpress.com. There is a detailed list concerning the guidelines for each literary genre entry. Information about the submissions criteria for the other participating publications can be found on the IU South Bend website.
Those who were denied entry to this year’s issues, or were reluctant to submit work, are encouraged to do so in future conferences. Each year the journal adopts a new editor and staff members so the publication is always reinventing itself.
“For an artist there is no shame in rejection. The only way to avoid rejection is to take no risk, and artists need to take risks,” Forbregd said.
