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Every year, the Barton College English Club publishes “LifeLines,” a literary journal consisting of creative student work. The English Club is accepting submissions for the 2017 edition of “LifeLines.”
Barton students can submit creative writing and artwork for the journal. Writing submissions can include fictional short stories, poetry, essays, screenplays and creative nonfiction work. Artwork submissions can include black and white photographs and drawings.
The literary journal was started in 1992 by Barton College staff members from the School of Humanities, Becky Howard and Dr. Kathy James. They created the journal as a creative outlet for Barton students to showcase their work. Dr. Elaine Marshall, former professor of literature at Barton, named the project “LifeLines.”
Twenty-five years later, LifeLines still serves the same purpose: to publish and showcase student creativity. The 2016 edition of LifeLines described the journal as “a published accounting of talented student poets and writers throwing their words out to a campus public to read”.
“It’s a really great opportunity for Barton students to share their artwork with the community and to flex their literary and artistic muscles,” said Bill Hunt, professor of American literature and co-adviser of the English Club.
Hunt explained the importance of student art. “Art helps us mediate our relationship with the world and with each other. It’s a good way for students to create a conversation about life at Barton,” he said.
Each edition of LifeLines contains creative work of a variety of mediums, telling a variety of student stories. “Goodnight and Good Luck,” a poem written by Barton student William Wooten, was published in the 2013 edition of the journal. The poem narrates the change a person goes through when leaving his home and starting life in a new one.
Dr. Jim Clark, dean of the School of Humanities at Barton and co-adviser of the English Club, has been involved in the publishing process of LifeLines for more than 10 years.
He explained why exhibiting student art is important. “When writing, you tend to keep it to yourself,” he said. “Maybe you scribble away in a journal or diary or something like that, or maybe you write to vent. Some of your work might be worth sharing with the community. It might be helpful to a reader to know that somebody feels the same way they do.”
Clark said he hopes to one day have an online component of LifeLines where students can publish audio art including music and spoken-word poetry in addition to what the journal already publishes.
The next edition of LifeLines will be published in March 2018, with a reception to follow in April.
Submissions for the journal are due by Dec. 1, 2017. Written or artistic pieces can be submitted as an attachment to Joyce Sutton at jasutton@barton.edu.
By Alyssa Lanphear
Managing Editor
