Central Oregon Community College is launching its new student-run literary magazine, “The Thread,” in late May to early June. The magazine is a publication that will showcase a variety of literature done by students, featuring fiction pieces, poems and personal essays. COCC students are encouraged to submit their work which will be published in the first issue. The last day for any submissions is Friday, May 9, at 11:59 p.m. Submissions will be accepted through a Google Form linked below, and the acceptance of the piece will be communicated by the end of May.
For more information and specific submission guidelines, access this link .
Students in the class Advanced Creative Writing will decide what goes in the magazine and the process of constructing the cover to publish the issue. Those involved in launching the magazine hope it will become a place where creativity is appreciated, voices from both unknown and known writers are heard, and where a diverse community can be connected through a single publication.
Eileen Sather, an English professor at COCC and instructor of Advanced Creative Writing, gave insight into the reasoning behind the magazine and getting the opportunity to create it:
“We wanted to promote all of the creativity and the good work that we were seeing and not seeing on campus…We are excited about having an opportunity to share that work with a larger COCC community and hopefully we can, eventually, with a larger Bend community.”
Sather offered her opinion on why students should submit their work to the magazine. She reflected on how launching a new publication can offer students a limited opportunity to create something from the ground up.
“It’s just a really good opportunity to share something that you have written with the larger community, and…is such a great opportunity because you can sort of shape the creative heartbeat on campus and maybe the future of the magazine,” said Sather.
Kate Mcfarland, a student at COCC and in Advanced Creative Writing, added to that discussion. “(It) just gets your writing out there.”
Furthermore, Mcfarland provided a piece of advice for when there’s hesitation in submitting work for the magazine:
“Do it. It’s low stakes, it doesn’t matter if we accept it or don’t accept it. The really important thing is just trying it out and getting the experience of how to submit for publication, and if you do get featured, that’ll be really cool if you can tell your friends about it and your family…it’s like nothing bad will happen.”
Lindsey Spakousky, a business major student at COCC and enrolled in Advanced Creative Writing, said it’s important to connect with others through a productive space. “I think it’s a good way to get involved in both the writing community and the community at the college.”
Spakousky also believed it’s important for students to have a space where their voices are heard. “I don’t think there’s a whole bunch of options for that at this college, honestly, and I think it’s really important in all cultures, but it’s really being emphasized in our society, and I think creating that safe space is important,” she said.
In moments of hesitation, Sather’s words offered a sense of reassurance:
“I would say the staff is really supportive and encouraging. Right now, everybody just
really wants to see the creative expression of others on campus…and we have an eye for lots of different kinds of writing in this room. So, there’s not one thing that we’re looking for, like one box that we’re expecting student writers to fit into.”
An excerpt of the magazine’s mission statement reads:
“ ‘The Thread’ aspires to create a space where creativity flows from the mind and soul. We honor the power of words, a quiet force in a noisy world.”
