The University of Wisconsin-Superior’s literary magazine, The Nemadji Review, is releasing its 13th edition on May 8, featuring the theme “Welcome to the 13th floor.”
The Nemadji Review is a yearly publication that features fiction and non-fiction prose, poetry, and artwork from UWS students and alumni, and local writers who live in the Twin Ports area.
Professor of Writing Julie Gard, the magazine’s faculty advisor, said the student staff members picked this year’s theme to coincide with the publication’s 13th anniversary. “Not all the work that’s published (in this issue) relates to this theme, but a lot of the work relates to things that are quirky, odd, unexpected, maybe a little bit of horror.”
Each issue of the Nemadji Review features artwork either from a UWS student or a local artwork, and the editors try to tie the art with the issue’s thematic elements. Last year’s issue, themed “Midnight Thoughts: Creative Hour,” featured cover art by a local artist. This year’s cover art is by UWS student Amy Bates.
“(The cover art) is usually a student, although last year, it was an artist who was a community member. Basically, we get our cover art through our calls for submissions; we decide how many pieces we want to publish, be it five pieces or ten pieces, and then we go through that artwork to see what might make a good cover for the journal. Then, the students vote and decide on that,” said Gard.
Ten students worked as staff members for the Nemadji Review this semester, including Justice Corpora, who is double majoring in English and Writing and will graduate with the class of 2024. Corpora worked as editor-in-chief for the new issue while studying as a distance learning student.
“I’ve been with the Nemadji Review for basically a semester and a half because we have our ‘on’ semesters and our ‘off’ semesters where we look at contributor works that have been submitted and then a semester where we prepare for that, basically,” Corpora said.
“The people we worked with, the editing team, were very agreeable with the mystery of (this year’s theme), and everyone is really passionate and puts a lot of extra time in to make sure it is what it is, to make sure its really well-done work that we can be proud of. I think having such a unique theme made it much more interesting for all of us to dive into together,” Corpora said on this year’s theme.
A live reading event will be hosted in Swenson Hall, both in-person and remotely, on May 8 at 5:30 p.m. to celebrate the release. Complementary copies of the brand-new issue will be available. You can also attend remotely by visiting their Facebook page.
