Posted by Rachel Hall, Faculty Advisor for Gandy Dancer
“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.”
–Rainer Maria Rilke
It’s a new year and a new semester. This means a new editing and production class full of new editors (nearly twice as many as last semester!) working toward a new issue of Gandy Dancer.
The semester promises to be a good one. Here’s a list of some of the new and exciting things we’re up to:
First of all, we’ve got new managing editors. Erin Koehler and Amy Bishop, who aren’t new to Gandy Dancer (see their lovely work in issues 2.1, 2.2 and 3.1), will take over this semester and they bring all kinds of talent (and fashion sense) to the job.
We’ll be reading and discussing Iron Horse Review this semester and will have the opportunity to talk shop with managing editor Leslie Jill Patterson next month. In past semesters we’ve spoken with the kind and knowledgeable editors at Crab Orchard Review, Fifth Wednesday and december magazine and each time we learn something new about what goes into producing a quality literary journal.
We’ll be travelling too. Look for Gandy Dancer at the FUSE – » the forum for undergraduate student editors table at the AWP book fair in Minneapolis in early April. We look forward to deepening our connection with FUSE by starting a local chapter at Geneseo. This will provide a community beyond Gandy Dancer for those interested in editing and publishing.
We’ll also attend the fabulous and funky Buffalo Small Press Book Fair in April. This is a great opportunity to feast on books and journals and zines as well as tasty snacks from the food trucks. Ok, this isn’t exactly new, but it is super fun.
Come join us this April at the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair!
All this newness is exciting, but let’s admit it, change is hard too. I will miss the former editors and readers from our small all-woman class. I will miss the amazing managing editorial team of Katie Waring and Lucia LoTempio. This semester will also mark the departure from Geneseo of all the Gandy Dancer founding editors whose initiative and enthusiasm were essential in creating Gandy Dancer.
And look at us now, in our third year: We’ve published work from thirty of the SUNY campuses, including community colleges and graduate programs. We’re available in print as well as online. Our contributors have had successes at other journals such as The Adirondack Review, Black Warrior Review, Susquehanna Review and DIALOGIST. We will enter this year’s issues in AWP’s National Directors’ Prize for college literary magazines. Work from our pages will be included in the anthology plain china: Best Undergraduate Writing. We plan to submit to plain china again this semester and to do our best to bring recognition to the talented SUNY writers and artists.
That’s not new, but it is our promise.