2016
NORTH CAROLINA L I T E R A R Y RE V I E W
NORTH CAROLINA CONNECTIONS: AN INTERVIEW WITH NCLR EDITOR MARGARET BAUER
PHOTOGRAPH BY DONNA KAIN
10
QUESTIONS BY ANNIE FRAZIER, DONNA KAIN, AND ZACKARY VERNON
COURTESY OF NCLR; DESIGNED BY MARY HATCH THIESEN WITH PHOTOGRAPHY BY W. CAMERON DENNIS
INTRODUCED AND EDITED BY ZACKARY VERNON
When I began studying American and Southern literature in graduate school at UNC, I immediately started hearing about the North Carolina Literary Review. People, then and now, speak of it in enthusiastic, reverential tones. “I love that journal!” they exclaim, before inevitably saying something like: “That’s Margaret Bauer’s baby! She’s done amazing things with it!” Since becoming editor of NCLR in 1997, Margaret has produced nearly twenty issues of the print journal (and since 2012, an additional electronic issue each year), and the quality of each issue has remained of the highest order. Backed by an extraordinarily talented staff, Margaret’s fierce dedication to the literature and art of the state has made NCLR the premier publication it is today. Working in tandem with the journal’s long tradition of bolstering the creative and academic careers of North Carolinians, Margaret is committed to publishing the work of established, as well as new voices. The state of North Carolina boasts an embarrassment of riches when it comes to writers, artists, and scholars, and Margaret has molded NCLR over the years to showcase the most innovative work being done by North Carolinians, both those born here and those, like Margaret herself (a native of Louisiana), with honorary North Carolina status. With Margaret at the helm, NCLR will undoubtedly continue to demonstrate to people across the state, region, nation, and globe how the distinctive traditions and landscapes of North Carolina provide material for the state’s various cultural and artistic expressions.
LEFT Cover of NCLR 1998, Bauer’s first issue as editor
ABOVE North Carolina Literary Review
Editor Margaret Bauer, 2014