Literary Journal Sparks Creativity for Faculty and Students

Middlesex: A Literary Journal will be published on the Middlesex College website near the end of the semester.

Mathew Spano, the English department chairperson, said, “The journal was founded by the English department faculty back in 2008 and it has published an issue every year since then, pretty much without interruption.”

Spano said, “The theme of the journal is a celebration of life, nature and the humanities among members of the campus community as well as the surrounding Middlesex County community.”

Spano said, “The journal's contributors span students, faculty, staff, administrators, retirees, alumni and friends of the College.  We also occasionally feature guest contributors, many of whom are accomplished writers and artists who live in and around Middlesex County.”

Amal Ahmed, an English major, said, “I look forward to reading the work that is published in the journal this year since I enjoy seeing different kinds of writing styles. I think it's important for schools to give opportunities to their students to showcase their writing as it allows them to begin building a portfolio that they can use in the future when it comes to finding jobs.”

Spano said, “In the past, we sometimes had a problem getting enough submissions. However, it has gotten much easier in recent years as the journal's reputation has grown. We are also very thankful for the professors of our creative writing and literature courses for working with students and encouraging them to send us their submissions.”

Spano said, “There have been a number of advantages to publishing the journal online regarding the photos included in the journal.”

He said, “We have seen a big advantage in the resolution, color and overall quality of the images. As a result, photographs and scanned images appear much closer to the original submissions. Also, in the online edition, we can include links to videos and other resources. Excessive costs used to limit the number of color images we could print, but now we can include as many as we like. That fact has increased the number of photographs, which you will see reflected in the next issue.”

Salomey Ayim, a second-year student, said, “It’s important to showcase students’ and faculty members’ work because they deserve to be acknowledged for their hard work. I’m really looking forward to reading the journal this year and seeing the talents of our Middlesex College community.”

Spano said, “The journal will be published online via the College's website and readers will simply need to click on the link to enjoy it.”

Spano said that an announcement will be sent out when the journal is published as well.