Calliope
About This Journal
Calliope was the product of the Literary Magazine class in the Creative Writing Program from 1977-1998. The course was designed to give students practical experience in and academic credit for publishing a literary magazine. A new issue was produced each semester, and the student staff participated in all phases of the production, including typesetting. Early issues were set using Selectric typewriters; later issues used computers. The actual photo-offset printing was hired-out, off-campus. The course instructor served as contact person, advisory editor and first reader, screening all poetry and fiction submissions. No RWC/RWU student work was eligible, but faculty and alumni were welcome to submit. Selected submissions were read and evaluated by the student staff with the writer’s name masked, so that beginning and established writers were read without prejudice. Discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of submissions were intended to not only choose content for the magazine, but also to help students assess and improve their own creative work.
Over the twenty-one years of Calliope’s existence it received thousands of submissions from around the world. It featured work by National Book Award winners and writers who were publishing for the first time. It was positively reviewed, acquired by academic and public libraries, exhibited at national and international book fairs, and brought positive attention to the University. Student staff members were prepared for possible career paths, both as writers and editors, and many went on to professional work in editing/publishing. An administrative decision to discontinue academic credit for literary publishing ended the Literary Magazine class and Calliope in 1998
