The Asbury Review, a literary magazine made entirely by the student body, is a beloved tradition that continues to inspire readers year after year. Founded in the 70s, The Review is a way that students continue to express themselves through poetry, art, short stories and screen plays. The publication is entirely student led. Student leaders are in charge of picking the best of students’ submissions to publish.
Associate -Editor-Chief Geneva Wise said, “It has been a very prolific and important part of campus life and gives voices to artists and authors in all majors. It has been a foundational part of the literary community across campus.” Every student on campus has the opportunity to submit their own work to potentially be published. This year, The Review will have a booth at Coffee and Canvas, an event which will happen later in the semester.
The Review also hosts a variety of different workshops and generative sessions throughout the semester. Generative sessions help students create and develop new concepts or ideas, while workshops help students edit already existing work.
Wise talked about her experiences submitting to the Review and how they taught her to take constructive criticism, “I submitted some poems to the review my freshman fall, and they got denied and I’m really glad they did because I never want those to see the light of day. I locked back in and worked on new pieces and got published my sophomore spring.” Many of the Review’s pieces are submitted multiple times over the course of several semesters, constantly improving.
The 25-26 Review staff was just finalized. Aside from Green and Wise, this year’s staff include Sam Alexander and Andre Zoolanian as Poetry Editors, Landrie Nickell Patterson as Creative Nonfiction Editor, Abby Goodrich as Fiction Editor, and Ruthie Williams and Kaja Jaques as Art Editors. Belle Forrest is the Graphic Designer and Beth McMullen is the Publicist. The Readers are Jimmy Hale, Autumn Tabor, Bailey Gonterman, Karis Gremillion, Harper Cryer, Ivy Romines, and Sarah Neumann.
Each semester, The Review has a launch party where the newest edition of the magazine is released, usually with its own theme. Here, friends and the general public are invited to Drinklings, a coffee shop in Wilmore, where drinks and conversation are everywhere.
“There’s nothing that beats that buzz and energy and just seeing how proud everyone is of their work and their friends,” said Editor in Chief Marissa Green.
At the event, each author or creator has the opportunity to read their piece aloud or explain their creative process to an audience. Green said, “I like the fact that we encourage and people are excited to read out loud. I feel like that’s something that’s kind of dying. It’s a little bit of a lost art, gathering and reading to each other.”
Both of the lead editors encourage freshmen to send in their work to the Review. Green said, “Whatever they think they can do, they should go for it, even if you don’t get it this year.” Wise wholeheartedly agreed, “I feel like the Review is a space that is just as sacred and important as Highbridge is for filmmakers and as the stage is for theater. This is a space for artists and writers to feel like their work has a stage of their own.”
Those interested in learning more can either email Marissa Green at marissa.green@asbury.edu or Geneva Wise at geneva.wise@asbury.edu or check out the Asbury Review’s instagram at @theasburyreview.
Photo courtesy of Asbury Review.
