New literary magazine expected this spring

MAGGIE PARKER
DM Staff Writer

This spring, literary buffs will have a new piece of work on which to feast their eyes.

Sophomore English majors Mary K. Harkins and Megan Norris, both of Jackson, are working on Hyperbole, an undergraduate literary magazine.

"My high school had a really good literary magazine," Norris said. "I was editor my senior year and when I was looking at colleges, I looked to see if they had a literary magazine."

Norris will serve as editor of Hyperbole.

Ole Miss was the only school on Norris' list that lacked a student magazine, which gave her the inspiration to begin one.

"Oxford has such a great literary heritage, and we have so much emphasis on the literary culture here," she said. "It did not make sense for the undergraduate student body not to have a voice for expressing themselves in a literary fashion."

Submissions can be sent to hyperbole_magazine@hotmail .com or dropped off at the Honors College office before Nov. 3. Prose, which includes short story, essay and one-act dramas, is limited to 2,500 words. Poetry is limited to 75 lines. Artwork will also be accepted.

Associate professor of English David Galef serves as the faculty advisor for Hyperbole.

"I think it's a good idea," he said. "It is certainly not meant to be in competition with the 'Yalobusha Review,'" Galef said.

The Yalobusha Review is a national literary magazine produced by graduate students at Ole Miss.

"Megan has started from square one and is fairly good managerially. The question is what kind of response it will get from students," Galef said.

Harkins and Norris have set no publication date but are looking at spring 2001.

"Right now, we are looking at yearly publication," Harkins said. "We want to start out with a small publication and get everything organized and on our feet and expand from there."

The main focus of Harkins and Norris is publicity and submissions.

"This has been a real collaborative effort," Norris said. "We have a good staff with some really interested people."

Each category of the literature and art will have a contest.

"We are looking for good literature and enjoyable literature," Norris said. "The winners in each category are the ones who will definitely be published."

"Everybody on staff has taken an active interest and hopefully that will generate some interest,"

Harkins said. "This is run by the students for the students."