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Students collaborate on literary journal
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By Rachel Tabor
For more than a century, the Ivy Leaves Journal of Literature and Art has provided a voice for student writers and artists at Anderson University.
“It’s the only (on-campus) opportunity for writers to present their work,” said Teresa Jones, associate professor of English and faculty adviser for the publication’s literature team. “Theater majors can put on shows, athletes can have games, but no one knows what writers do without Ivy Leaves.”
Ivy Leaves began as The Orion in 1916 and has been a place for student work ever since, Jones said. A literature team and a design team, both made up of students, share the task of creating the publication each year.
Ivy Leaves faculty adviser Teresa Jones facilitates a meeting of the Ivy Leaves literary editing team. The literary journal continues a tradition that spans more than a century at Anderson University. The magazine, first called The Orion, was begun in 1916.
Photo by Alli Kennedy
Student participants say the journal provides a unique opportunity for students to see their work as a part of something bigger.
“I love working with authors and celebrating with them as their writing reaches completion and publication,” Jacob Cavett, this year’s editor-in-chief, said.
“Student-led, and student-read,” is the team’s motto,
The collaboration between the English department in the College of Arts and Sciences and the department of art and design in the South Carolina School of the Arts to create Ivy Leaves represents what it means to be a liberal arts university, said Associate Professor of Art Tim Speaker, who serves as a faculty adviser and art director for Ivy Leaves.
“The heart of the liberal arts concept is the idea that you’re enriching your discipline based on collaboration with another discipline,” Speaker said.
Jones agrees.
“Without this project, we’re isolated in our disciplines,” Jones said. “This is a great opportunity for us on the writing side to become aware of the design team. It speaks to the idea that it’s not just for the College of Arts and Sciences, it’s for the whole university.”
Photo by Alli Kennedy
Speaker and Jones have been working together on Ivy Leaves for more than 10 years and have seen the publication through many stages and style changes.
They say they are motivated to continue because they see the value of Ivy Leaves.
“It brings together so many things in the spirit of collaboration,” Speaker said, “It’s a true labor of love.”
“I really like to see my students succeed,” Jones said. “I love to see them take pride in their work and recognize it as something that can reach a broader audience. Very often students don’t know what they’re capable of until they see it in Ivy Leaves.”
Students on the Ivy Leaves art team work on graphic design and photography for the journal. The magazine is a collaborative interdisciplinary project between Anderson University’s College of Arts and Sciences and the South Carolina School of the Arts.
Photo by Alli Kennedy
Photo by Alli Kennedy
