Tag Archives: Literary Journal

How the 2020 FUSE Digital Colloquium Helped Put Things into Perspective for Young Writers

Image source: https://arts.columbia.edu/profiles/rob-spillman

Posted by Sara Devoe, GD Managing Editor for 9.1

On October 29th, I attended the twelve-hour digital colloquium known as FUSE, or, The Forum for Undergraduate Student Editors. Created in 2002 by students and faculty from the Writer’s Institute at Susquehanna University, FUSE was created to “foster visionary magazine work and to support undergraduates who are eager to pursue careers in writing, publishing and editing.” In other words, FUSE was formed to foster a community among young writers and editors across the country. Continue reading

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Four Lessons Joining the Gandy Dancer Team Will Teach You

Posted by Jennifer Taylor Johnson, GD Fiction Reader for 6.2

Whether your passion is writing and editing or you’re just looking for a class to fit your schedule in the fall, being a member of the Gandy Dancer team is not a decision you will regret. Joining the Gandy Dancer team is more than a grade on your transcript, it dedicating hard work and time into assembling the school’s literary journal and learning important life lessons along the way. Don’t believe me? Here are four lessons you will learn by being a reader for The Gandy Dancer. Continue reading

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Meet our Editors!

Posted by Shannon Marlatt, GD Fiction Reader for 6.2

Writing is a grueling yet beautiful calling. Experiences like writers block and time constraints make the job so hard. The creative spaces of writers everywhere have succumbed to crumpled paper balls haphazardly thrown near trash bins and half-empty coffee cups strewn across worn desks. One thing that may help writers in the mysterious process is gaining an understanding of what kinds of work literary journals, like Gandy Dancer, look for in publication. In order to help our readers and writers understand the people behind the journal, I decided to conduct a mini interview with each of the editors. I asked two questions to each individual, questions which I believe give readers a good insight into who these people are and what they value. I asked “What is your favorite quote?” and “If you could have any superpower, what superpower would you have and why?” Continue reading

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St. John Fisher’s Best of The Angle leads to revival of journal as ANGLES

Posted by Oliver Diaz, Managing Editor

Like a shot of espresso, a Best Of issue is a short burst of concentrated content. Dynamic and packed with the best fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and cover art of the last 25 years, Best of The Angle is St. John Fisher’s literary espresso shot. Published in 2016, the anthology also features interviews with the authors alongside their revived writings spanning back to as early as 1956 and as late as 2011.

The joy of a Best Of compilation is in the consistent quality and The Angle delivers in all forms. Tom Hughes’ poem “OINK,” published in 1967, recalls the counter-culture during the Vietnam War, and, like all the work in the anthology, is complimented by an interview in which the author expounds upon his inspiration. On the other hand, full of emotion, distress, and mystery, Emilio Lopez’s story “Reluctant Brother” explores the relationship between two brothers as one tries to call the other back to the family. Lopez’s story is patient, chilling, and, according to him, verges toward the Twilight Zone. Continue reading

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When The Autistic Evaluates Poetry


Posted by
Megan Grant, GD Poetry Reader for 5.2

When I find myself bemoaning the five hours and nine minutes between my friend Chrissy and me, I read her poetry out loud to myself.  I sit cross-legged in front of my bleached-wooden bookshelf and run my fingers across novels and memoirs until they rest on Issue 3.1 of Gandy Dancer.  Chrissy’s poems are printed on page thirty-one; the journal bends open to her.

I have memorized the degree of emphasis of each syllable, the number of milliseconds between every dash and line break.  The stanzas sound like Chrissy, despite our voices’ differing timbres.  However, no matter how many times I recite her poems, both the ones she wrote in college and the new ones she’s written while pursuing her MFA a UMass, I still cannot comprehend what it means to be, “subatomic reactions daisychained in fractals,” or to, “supernova against your stringbean cilia.”  I can’t quite figure out all of what the poems are saying. Continue reading

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Four Reasons Your Future Self Will Thank You for Submitting to Gandy Dancer

Posted by Heather Molzon, GD Public Relations Manager and Fiction Reader for 5.2

Are you looking for a sign to submit your work to Gandy Dancer this semester? If so, consider this it! Gandy Dancer is now officially accepting submissions in the genres of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and visual art until February 17th for Issue 5.2.

D.W Winnicot once said, “Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide.” This couldn’t be a more relatable statement because as college artists we are often plagued by doubt when deciding whether or not to share our work. Continue reading

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5 Literary Journals for New Writers, plus Cover Letter Help

Posted by David Sabol, GD Poetry Reader for 5.15 Literary Journals for New Writers, plus Cover Letter Help

As we all know, starting a career as a writer is pretty difficult. You’re a young writer who’s practiced your craft for years, writing page after page of work, until finally, you’ve written something that you feel the literary world needs to see… Now what? Most people don’t know where to go from here, whether they’re in high school or college. Continue reading

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5 Days Left to Submit to Gandy Dancer!

Posted by Erin Carlo, GD Public Relations Manager and Fiction Reader for 5.1

Gandy Dancer Call for SubmissionsDear SUNY students,

Gandy Dancer wants to publish YOUR work! There are only 5 days left to submit, but it only takes a few minutes to do so.  Go to https://gandydancer.submittable.com/submit now and bring your fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and artwork to students and humans all over the world with Gandy Dancer.

With love always,

The Gandy Dancers of Issue 5.1

 

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Gandy Dancer Proudly Presents… Your 5.1 Managing Editors

Posted by Erin Carlo, GD Public Relations Manager and Fiction Reader for 5.1

Gandy Dancer 5.1 managing editors, Evan Goldstein & Oliver Diaz

Gandy Dancer 5.1 managing editors, Evan Goldstein & Oliver Diaz

First and foremost, we would like to welcome our readers and contributors to the fifth anniversary edition of Gandy Dancer!  We are delighted to welcome an entirely new cast of submission readers who are eager to discover what it means to produce a journal as well as gain new perspectives on literary journalism.  The start of the new semester also brings a brand new dynamic duo who will take the stage as Gandy Dancers managing editors.

 

I had the opportunity to ask our newest managing editors, Evan Goldstein and Oliver Diaz, a few questions about themselves and their new roles as managing editors, and I am pleased to share their responses with you.

When did you first hear about Gandy Dancer?

Oliver: First semester sophomore year. My sister was a senior taking the Editing and Production workshop, in which Gandy Dancer is produced, and she introduced me to the journal, told me about the process, and that it might be a good idea to submit to it.

Evan: I first heard about Gandy during my freshman year, when I was in the intro to creative writing class. I was thinking of applying to the creative writing track, and I wanted to look at Gandy to see what kind of writing I should aim for. I think I looked at issue 2.1, the one with the photo of the guy in the forest as the cover. I remember I was impressed and scared by the poetry, and I wanted so badly to be able to express myself on that level. Continue reading

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What Makes a Good Writer?

Posted by Megan Tomaszewski, CNF reader for issue 4.2

myemotions_troyWho is a writer? According to Dictionary.com, a writer is “a person engaged in writing books, articles, stories etc., especially as an occupation or profession.” Merriam Webster Dictionary notes that a writer is “someone who has written something.” But are there any definitions out there for what makes a writer a good writer?

Working at Gandy Dancer this semester as a creative nonfiction reader has prompted me to reflect on the answer to this question a lot, especially when reading through submissions to accept or reject. While discussing submissions with my peers, I was captivated by the way our group would sometimes unanimously “no” a piece, whereas, other times, we would debate pros and cons back and forth. Sometimes, we’d all like or dislike a piece for similar reasons, sometimes for completely different ones.

It was a fascinating, engaging, and messy process unlike anything else that I’ve been a part of—a group of individuals with their own subjective tastes and backgrounds collectively deeming literary pieces as worthy of publishing is no easy feat.

Continue reading

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