Literary magazine extends deadline due to low submissions

Keely Messcar '21, Staff Writer

The yearly Looking Glass submission due date is approaching , but postponed until more art, poetry or type of literature is contributed by students according to co-adviser Tarn Laughlin.

“The Looking Glass is a literary magazine that is a combination of mostly poetry and art work that accompanies the poetry,” Laughlin said. “There are sometimes some short stories that make their way in there.”

Every year the members of Looking Glass decide a theme for the magazine, and from the fall to the start of spring, the Looking Glass takes submissions of paintings, computer designs, photos, poetry, essays and more from the student body according to president Sam Campion.

“Each meeting we view the submitted work anonymously and vote on if we want the pieces in the magazine. The voting has five different levels, categorizing how much students want the pieces in the magazine,” Sam Campion said.

According to co-adviser Harry Campion, the deadline for submissions is being pushed back to the end of February and they are still looking for more students participate and get involved.

“The magazine has been going very well, it’s a beautiful magazine and the kids do a great job with it,” Harry Campion said.

The yearly magazine is a great way for students to express themselves through literature, according to Laughlin. She hopes more students will like to participate, as there are many talented students at South who’s work could be a great addition to the Looking Glass.

“If you are doing anything with literature and the arts, it kind of forces you to identify with anythingthing going on in the world or learn about mistakes that have happened in the past because of people’s expression of art through writing and actual pictures,” Laughlin said.

According to Laughlin, it is easy to take part in the Looking Glass,as the team meets on Mondays after school in either Campion or Laughlin’s rooms right across the hall, welcoming newcomers with fresh ideas.

“We are always looking for new people to come to the meetings and give their perspective on what we are looking at so it’s not the same voices everytime,” Laughlin said.

All poetry and art are ways of communicating, so the Looking Glass is a great way to communicate with the people around you and touch their lives and see who you are, according to Campion.

“The difficulty is that few students pay attention to the announcements that advertise the magazine. In the past, teachers have advertised the magazine and then students have spread the details themselves,” Sam Campion said.

The Looking Glass has been doing flyers and posters and are updated. Through word of mouth, teachers talk to students in their English classes about submission the group hopes for students to get excited to participate according to Laughlin.

“Audrey Whitaker ’19 usually does some fun signage that we post around the school,” Laughlin said. “We are always looking for creative ways to get people interested.”

The Looking Glass hopes for more people to be involved according to Harry Campion, they can accommodate a lot more people in the magazine, so they are very welcoming to people ready to submit their work hopefully by the end of February.

“It would really help to have more students submit,” Sam Campion said. “We would be overjoyed to have more students come to the meetings.”