Monday, February 21, 2011

A note --


                  My souls’s shadow
 flees through a sunset of alphabets,
       mist of books
      and words.
                    --Federico Garcia Lorca


I am so excited that a new literary season has begun at Northwest Vista-- we’ve got a fantastic group working on The Lantana, and we are all looking forward to reading new work, work shopping the new pieces, and connecting the school through art and literature.  This year our theme is “Changes”-- an intrinsic aspect of the human condition.  Change has inspired artists throughout the ages; the earliest art was influenced by the changing of the seasons, the movement of the natural world, the greatness of the sun and the fearsomeness of the elements.  As humanity has progressed great art has arisen from great moments of change: the classical period gave way to the romantic period, ushering in the modernists, the post modernists, and you.  We invite all students to write, draw, paint and express the world that you see around you: great change is happening in your lives at every moment.  Our world has become one of near constant change.  Inspiration lurks around every corner, ripe for the picking.

Our magazine staff comes from a variation of artistic backgrounds:  we represent science fiction and fantasy, social commentary, romance, abstract expressionism, visual art, meta-fiction, and all points in between.  We look forward to receiving multi-genre submissions. 

In addition to our literary magazine, I look forward to running into fellow students at artistic and cultural events around the city.  I am hoping that The Lantana Blog will become your go to spot to learn about events happening on the campus and around town.  We will feature book reviews, points of inspiration, interviews with writers and artists around town, and write ups on bookstores and literary events around town.

The best advice that I ever received on the subject of writing was simple: Read a Lot, Write a Lot.  Get inspired.  Find your muse.  Write and create your experience. 

-H. Johnson

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

First meeting!

Our first meeting was today at 1 pm in JH 213! Here's what we discussed:

THEME: Change -- it is broad, and has many facets. Social, physical, cultural, historical change -- big changes, little changes -- transformation. What do you think?

Creating flyers -- Yarleen is going to create some drafts for us! These flyers will share the theme information, as well as guidelines!

Blog updates -- Hailey will provide updates on local readings, art shows, bookstores, etc.

You can contact me, Sherita, at sarmstrong13@alamo.edu for more infomation

Thanks!