A student-run arts and literary journal is accepting submissions until Feb. 1.
The Aster Review, supported by the OU publication World Literature Today, annually publishes a journal featuring visual arts and written pieces done by students at the university. After the 2020 edition was pushed to 2021 due to COVID-19, the Aster Review board is currently accepting submissions for the 2022 edition.
Alex Crayon, editor-in-chief of the publication, says the board is excited to get the journal back on schedule and hopes to publish a larger edition featuring work from students to make up for the missing year.
“We’re making up for lost time,” Crayon said.
The delay was caused mostly due to the shift online in March 2020, Crayon said. The abrupt shift caused disarray among the board members and led to disorganization that prevented the board from meeting consistently throughout the semester.
Now that more people have adjusted to working in an online space, Crayon said it’s easier to get in touch with the other board members and set up the meetings that need to take place to put the journal together in a timely manner.
The journal will consist entirely of student-created pieces, from visual arts to written arts. Previously, the journal was primarily marketed to written prose and poetry along with certain forms of visual art. Today, Crayon said the board is also open to including photos of sculptures and dances, along with sheet music and lyrics.
“We accept literally anything,” Crayon said. “If we can put it on paper, we want to.”
Once submissions close, the board will begin the process of choosing which pieces will be in this year’s journal. Crayon said the process has always been “holistic,” but will be slightly different this year compared to previous years.
Previously, the process was a simple vote of “yes” or “no” on which pieces would be included. Additionally, a majority of the members of the board are not artistically or literally trained, Crayon said, leading to pieces being selected based on “what’s cool” as opposed to the skill necessary to make it.
Crayon and other members of the board felt that process lacked nuance and prevented technically impressive pieces from being published. This year, pieces will be rated on a scale before moving to discussion about the ratings with the rest of the board, Crayon said.
“We want to make sure we account for originality and technical ability,” Crayon said.
The editorial board accepts new members year-round. Students of all majors and backgrounds are encouraged to join, as they provide a perspective that literature and art students cannot, Crayon said.
Currently, the board is primarily made up of STEM majors. It’s also a very diverse board, Crayon said. Many members of the board are women, people of color or members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
“This is a magazine for the student body and we want it to be representative of that,” Crayon said. “We want the board to be representative, too.”
The Aster Review is accepting submissions to the magazine through email. More information on the submissions guidelines can be found on the journal’s website.
The board plans to have the 2022 edition available in May, at the latest, Crayon said. The board is prepared for any more pandemic-related delays and has factored an extra month of “buffer” into their publication timeline.
“We’ve already waited long enough for a lot of these artists,” Crayon said. “We’re done waiting.”
