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Staff Writer

Rubicon opens staff to interested students

Georgia Blanchard


The Rubicon, Troy University’s student-run literary journal, is currently accepting submissions and is looking for interested students to join its literature review committees.

The Rubicon is traditionally published every fall and spring semester and is divided into separate prose and poetry sections. Each section has its own committee of students to decide which pieces will be published.

In the last two years, the Rubicon has published only one collection of works during the spring that accumulated pieces submitted during both semesters, but according to Sidney Coker, a senior English major from Tallassee and the editor-in-chief of the Rubicon for fall 2018, this year it plans to return to two publications.

Coker shared some advice for new students looking to join the Rubicon.

“I got involved with the Rubicon in spring 2017 after some friends who were involved told me about it,” Coker said. “To students who want to join a committee, just join — you have the opportunity to read works by classmates and influence our next edition of the Rubicon.”

Caroline Hughes, a senior English major from Decatur, said she joined the Rubicon in fall 2017 as a member of the poetry committee and has grown in her writing as a result.

“For new students, the biggest thing is to just submit,” Hughes said. “If you’re putting yourself out there — even if you don’t feel like you’re good enough to get in — you’re practicing, and you’re making that effort.”

Coker reassured students who are nervous about submitting their works that when works are being reviewed, it is done so anonymously and without bias toward the person.

“Everything submitted is reviewed anonymously; until publication your name won’t be attached,” Coker said. “But if you don’t make this issue, you could make the next, so don’t be discouraged.

“You have just as much opportunity as anyone else, and you should take the chance to have your work showcased.”

The anonymous system has proven extremely effective in avoiding any sort of bias, as Rubicon staff members are also allowed to submit their own works, which will be looked over as if they were submitted by any student on campus.

Ben Robertson, a professor in the English department and the faculty adviser for the Rubicon, said his favorite part about working with the Rubicon is seeing the creativity and talent in student works.

“We have a lot of really good creativity, both in terms of writers and in terms of the artwork,” Robertson said. “Over the last several (issues), we’ve had students in the art department contribute to the publication by reading over either a poem or a short story and illustrating something for it.”

As the faculty adviser for the Rubicon, Robertson answers questions, helps handle funding and looks over the final copy before each issue is sent to be published.

“We have a lot of talent among our students,” he said. “It’s sometimes easy to overlook that, especially for professors.

“Our job is to evaluate, but we end up evaluating everything.”

Hughes said the key to being accepted is editing and resubmission.

“I submitted my freshman year and didn’t get in the journal,” she said. “At first, I was really disappointed, but then I started re-evaluating my writing and began editing my own work more.

“This past year, three of my poems got in, and it was a rewarding experience considering how hard I’ve worked since freshman year.”

Interest meetings for the Rubicon were held on Sept. 25 and 26, but students who were unable to attend or were not aware of the meetings can still join a committee via email,on the Rubicon Facebook page or by personally contacting a current member of the Rubicon.

The deadline for fall 2018 submissions is Nov. 7 at the end of the day (midnight). Students may submit up to four pieces of prose and six poems each semester by emailing them to litjournal@troy.edu.

Past issues of the Rubicon can be found at spectrum.troy.edu/rubicon/issues.htm.

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