Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Vol. CLIV, Issue 6
Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Verve hosts blue moon “Big Art”

by Sarah McCarthy
STAFF WRITER

As part of its continual quest to promote student creativity, the staff of blue moon held an art showing, poetry reading and concert at the Verve coffeehouse last Wednesday. The show was given the self-explanatory name “Big Art” show, since all the art on the walls were blown-up copies of student work from back issues of blue moon.

The art pieces were all on sale for 35 dollars, and by the end of the night all but one of the pieces had sold. Cries of, “Oh, you got that one?” were heard many times as some missed out on the opportunity to snag their favorite piece.

Carly Rue, who both is the editor-in-chief of blue moon and a Verve employee said that it was the biggest night that Verve had ever had. In two hours, the staff estimated that there were about 300 people, the vast majority of whom were Whitman students, who came to view the art and hear the poetry and voices of their peers.

The night alternated between musical performances and poetry readings. Justine Pope, Rohan Flinn, Keith Dammer, Ezra Fox and Beth Frieden each read a self-written poem that had been published in the last volume of blue moon, and Elliot Knapp, Kalla Vavra and Aisha Fukushima all gave musical performances despite the crowded and noisy atmosphere.

The night was not only the first Big Art show for blue moon, but also the first time that blue moon has been officially recognized as one of the top collegiate arts and literary magazines in the country. In September, Rue said that “there is a myth among Whitman students and it goes like this: blue moon is an award-winning magazine.” Before this year, however, the magazine had never been submitted to any contests or received any recognition from outside of Whitman. Wanting to see if this so-called myth could become a reality, Rue and members of the blue moon staff sent the magazine to the CSPA (Collegiate Scholastic Press Association) to receive detailed commentary and scores. As Rue revealed at the Big Art show, the CSPA awarded blue moon a gold medal, deeming it both well-designed and full of exceptional work. The staff is now looking into trying to get the magazine stocked in independent bookstores, such as Portland’s Powells, in order to increase circulation.

Though the deadline for submissions is drawing near, it is not yet too late. All art, poetry and prose must be mailed by Feb. 5. Pieces can either be e-mailed as rich-text format attachments to [email protected] or campus mailed on a CD-ROM to the blue moon mailbox.

With a look toward wider circulation and the art show last Wednesday, being published in blue moon now means that one day your piece might be purchased and hung on someone’s wall, perhaps next to a van Gogh original, or that your poem might be read by adoring independent book store shoppers throughout the world. With the new innovations abounding in the blue moon world, no one can say.
As Rue said, “I hope everything we start this year will become an annual tradition.”

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All Whitman Wire Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *