Marketing and Sales Editor—-Taylor Schlinkmann

I like to think that Mush magazine will be seen as something that pushes the limits or boundaries of typical literature common in a college setting. As sales and marketing editor for the magazine, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how I want others to view our 2014 version of Mush. In past years it’s been something that students disregarded and was thrown in the trash. That will not happen this year and we, the editors, have made sure of that.

As a group, we have strategically chosen everything from our final pieces for the issue to our marketing tactics. All of these things have come together to embody a piece of literature that sparks creativity amongst writers, artists, and even those who may have believed they had no interest in such things.

I am a firm believer in the idea that marketing makes or breaks a product. Our latest marketing endeavor was to purchase 100 pens. Some of you are probably asking yourselves why we would choose pens to spend our already minimal funding on. We are a college run literary magazine. Who doesn’t use pens in college? We are planning on simply walking up to people in the halls, handing them a pen, maybe saying have a nice day, and then moving on. We don’t want to overwhelm anyone, but this tactic definitely will still do the job to advertise the magazine.

The Mush staff is continuously planning new marketing opportunities that everyone will be seeing around campus very soon.

Entry from Jazzmin MUSH Poetry Editor

We have finally hit the button to send in our draft with all the little issues fixed and ready for printing! Though it was simply just a click, it had the weight of our magazine behind it with the editors gleaming with pride. Personally, I wait eagerly to get the real copy back and be able to hold it in my hand for the first time knowing there are some fantastic writers in them eager to let others read their work. There is a different feel to reading something when it is ‘officially’ published rather than just on a document. Before it was more through the eyes of someone much more critical with the idea that we had nearly 200 submissions that needed to be narrowed down knowing our magazine could not hold them all. However, with the published copy on our way I can finally read these works for pleasure making it almost like a new experience.

Being that this is my last semester here at UWMC, I hope that our issue will be an inspiration to future students to see if they can top ours. Though each magazine we have published are equally just as well made, with writings anyone could enjoy, it is always interesting to see people pick things out from the magazine to see what they liked and did not like. From there they can try and model it into something they like and can feel pride for what they have created even if the next group may not like something. This just allows the MUSH magazine to evolve throughout the years – which is something interesting to watch.

Thanks for reading,
Jazzmin Nylund
Poetry Editor

Words from One of Our Prose Editor, Kelsey

Dear Readers

Hey, too all of you other literary enthusiasts out there. Let me start be saying I love to read and I have enjoyed reading all of the submissions we have received. I am one of the Prose editors this year for Mush. I am also one of the published authors from last year’s edition. I took a leap of courage, like all of the people who have submitted this and years past, and submitted a couple of pieces. After I submitted my pieces last year I waited those long weeks for an acceptance or rejection, hoping against hope that I would get an acceptance. I wondered what was in the minds of the editors as they read them. This was one of the reasons I decided to join the Mush staff. I wanted to see what was “behind the curtain.”

I have learned a lot so far in class. We received a record of submissions this year and were put to the daunting task of reading them all. Reading so many submissions at once, usually through the night, taught me that first impression of piece a matters. I could usual tell after the first reading if a liked something or not, however I did have to reread in order what they were truly trying to say. One of the things that has stuck with me about the prose submissions is their endings.

Many of the submissions had ending that seem rushed or were unsatisfactory. I think this is because the prose pieces have to be short. A writer gets to the end and just wraps it up cutting off his or her piece. My advice to growing writers out there, like myself, is to take more care with the ending. Perhaps start with it and work backwards. I encourage every one of you literary enthusiasts to submit next and the year after that. You never know what will catch the next set of editor’s eye.

The Process Is Almost Done

Dear Readers, Writers and those who sent submissions for the 2014 edition,

Thank you and congratulations! (For being any of the above and for finding or blog!)

Submissions are in for this year and I’m pleased to say we surpassed totals from last year, having over 180 submissions! The submissions range from authors as young as 16 and as wise as 72 years old! The variety was also fantastic. Poetry, prose, creative non-fiction, plays, digital photography, oil paintings, sculpture…. The quality of the magazine will be a direct reflection of the amount and variety of submissions we received.

We are still going through the process of reviewing all of the submissions and discussing (sometimes heatedly) which pieces will make it into the magazine and which, unfortunately cannot. As a fledgling author and a submitter to various literary magazines myself, I would just like to take a moment to consider those of you who put your creativity out to the world and do not get selected. I know it’s difficult but would encourage you not to view it as a rejection but a wonderful first step past insecurity or the scrutiny of others. That in itself takes courage and I thank each and every one of you.

From selections we will be moving into the layout and print aspects of the magazine. I encourage each of you to also visit our Facebook page, where we will be asking for feedback and discussion as to future aspects of the magazine. Toward the end of the semester there will be a release party held in the Union on campus and I encourage students, alumni and community members to attend, read aloud and enjoy some free food (well, not free, but already paid for!).

Sincerely,

Shawn Igers
Managing Editor
Mush Magazine 2014

Vermillion Waltz

Lurking from the darkest corners comes a strident force.

Lurking from the tightest spaces comes a hidden force.

Lurching away from the realm of non-existence,

Hungrily gnawing away at the chance of co-existence.

Shortly before its dissipation,

One might look to give its final realization.

Asphalt Sundae

In the midst of a sweetened bitterness lies a bitter sweetness.

Wake and do something worthwhile, says the greatest of the worst.

Do something worthwhile and wake, says the worst of the greatest.

In the midst of a sweetened bitterness lies the sweetest of the bitter.

In the midst of a sweetened bitterness lies the most bitter of the sweet.

In the midst of this ashened treat comes a turn.

Whether it leaves the bitter or the sweet, it welcomes the sweet or the bitter.

Galewind

The glass of a crimson surface dims on the sound of an oncoming looming darkness.
These waves of darkness pierce through to and fro, stealing away the essence from those unfortunate to cross its path.
The essence stolen no longer stands to silence, reverberating in the harmony of a sound lost in time.
The third bell has chimed, summoning the wind to shatter the glass within.