Literary magazine released
The publication includes color photography and cartoons.
Published April 14, 2006
Thursday night marked the release of the Spring 2006 issue of epic, an MU undergraduate literary magazine.
An event held for the release, which was co-sponsored by Move, The Maneater's entertainment magazine, included a reading of material from the issue and readings by creative writing students.
The event was to promote the spring issue. Only 500 copies of the magazine were printed but it can all be read online at missouri.edu/~emuwww/epic.shtml.
Musical performances also helped blend together the event, which was held at the Cherry Street Artisan, 111 S. Ninth St.
With its fifth issue, which was published by English @ MU, this edition of epic, which stands for Envisioning Pursuits In Creativity, features poetry, fiction, non-fiction, dramatic writing, cartoons and photography.
Production began in October 2005, when students were encouraged to submit work. The magazine's staff members anonymously critiqued the works of each genre. The staff continuously narrowed the list of potential candidates and finally voted on which pieces should appear in the publication.
Senior poetry editor Jesse Drury said he considers many characteristics when critiquing poems.
"I look for whose theme and form coincide and writers who are willing to stand out and not just (submit) what they wrote in English class," Drury said.
The magazine received nearly 70 submissions but only published nine works.
Freshman reader Emily Wunderlich said she looked for gripping material.
"It should be interesting, and it should go somewhere, but it should also have important content," Wunderlich said.
The magazine's editor in chief Shawn Mitchell said epic has gone through some changes since its first issue.
"It started out as only fiction and poetry with only black and white," Mitchell said.
Mitchell said the magazine eventually allowed for drama and non-fiction sections and improved its layout.
This issue was the first to include cartoons and color photography.
Layout and design editor Jenny Dills is responsible for the visual revamp. Dills, a senior in her third year with the publication, said the goal of the layout was to "use design which compliments the strong content."
Non-fiction and drama editor Rachel Mahan said the magazine has several goals.
"We're just looking to make it bigger, longer pages and more color," Mahan said.
As for the future of the magazine, Dill said she is especially optimistic.
"People are going to use epic as a household name on campus," she said.
