By Kindra Stewart, Nonfiction Editor
Calliope – the Overview
Inspired by the eldest of the Muses in Greek mythology and later known as the goddess of poetry, Calliope is an all student-run art and literary magazine based at Chapman University in Orange, California, dedicated to showcasing the voices and talents of its university. Though the magazine does not come in a format suitable for audio or video submissions, it does accept all genres of writing and any art form that can be displayed in print.
The Spring 2020 Edition
When first opening the PDF, I was immediately drawn into the magazine by the cover alone – a simple but perfectly balanced photograph using compositional art techniques, decorated with minimal text. The layout is effortless – white with black text – and is pieced together in this order: Title, Credits, Editor’s Note, Table of Contents, Content, and finally, contributor bios. There are no fancy graphics. Of the thirty-four people that were published in this edition, there were eleven pieces of poetry, six pieces of fiction, one piece of non-fiction, seventeen photography pieces, two mixed-media pieces, nine digital art pieces, and one piece of graphite art on paper.
As I scrolled through the pages, there was a great mix of voices, themes, and creativity. Of the prose pieces, the majority were flash fiction but many of them read like non-fiction which provided a nice mix of work. Every poetry piece was very different. One poem was as simple as fifteen words while another poem spanned across two pages, and some were more experimental than others. Photography dominated the art category, and most of these pieces incorporated a human element. Most of the digital art had human subjects, as well.
The Editors
On the magazine’s website, there is a section with short bios of most members of the editorial team. Many of them were humorous and somehow related to vegan cuisine (so Southern California). All editors of Calliope are Chapman University students that have applied for their positions on the Art and Editorial Board.
Submission Guidelines
Calliope only accepts submissions from Chapman students and its faculty members. There is a limit of two entries per submitter – two writing pieces, two art pieces, or one of each – and all are required to have titles and be submitted as different files without the presence of submitter’s name. All pieces cannot have been previously published. Specific requirements for literary and art submissions, such as file type, word count, resolution, etc., are clearly stated on the website.
My favorite piece
Of all of the writing and art in the Spring 2020 edition, “The Pumpkin” by Savy Janssen stood out to me the most (47). This haunting poem illustrates the grief of a daughter after tragically losing her father amid the holiday season, while also intertwining his life with the life of the pumpkin he brought home two months before that hasn’t rotted into the ground yet.
Rating
I would rate Calliope as very much above average for content. However, while I loved the simplicity of the layout and really enjoyed reading through and examining each piece, it doesn’t publish audio or video because it advertises itself as a print magazine only (even though they have a nice website and a decent social media following). Also, as I mentioned before, Calliope does not accept work from anyone outside of Chapman University.
Kindra Stewart is a former U.S. Air Force photojournalist and award-winning writer based in New Mexico. Her writing and photography have been featured in various military publications, The Crimson Thread, and Alamogordo Daily News. She is one of DiN’s nonfiction editors and is studying English with a concentration in rhetoric, digital media and professional communication with a minor in creative writing at New Mexico State University.
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