The East Central Conference (ECC) Perspectives literary magazine comprises student-produced short stories and poetry. There are nine pieces of student literature from Berlin writers being produced. English teacher Andrew Reise is the coordinator and helps decide who is published in the magazine.
“We have eight creative writers who have submitted their work and been selected, Aleea Lichtenburg, Ewan Steffen, Taylor Van Ornum, Emelia Beulen, Tasi Ana Sanchez, Ella Spitler, Aidan Pierstorff, and Arianna McCormick,” Reise said.
Students are encouraged to use their creativity and knowledge to try and represent the school and student body to the best of their ability. Despite students being able to submit anything they wish, there are requirements to follow.
“What they submit is their best version of creative writing. It needs to be their work, reasonably short, which means we have 10 pages to fill with Berlin materials in this conference literary magazine, so we’re looking for something that’s not a fifteen-page short story. Short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, any of those are fair game,” Reise said.
Freshman Ewan Steffen is publishing a short story titled “The Alpines” that was influenced by some of his real-life experiences.
“I was inspired by a few trips that we took into the alpine lakes this summer to fish, and so I just had the idea because we saw some small rock slides happen so that’s kind of the basis of this story,” Steffen said.
Developing a story or any form of writing can be time-consuming and can take months to perfect. After the initial draft, there is a long editing process, and many original thoughts are typically deleted or rephrased.
“I just started writing. I had an idea, and I started writing in the first few weeks of school and I had it finished by a few months in,” Steffen said.
Students can also submit artwork to be published for Perspective’s cover art. The cover art typically is an illustration of that year’s Perspectives theme.
“One of the advisers came up with it because no student submissions came in this year. It (cover theme) is about opening your mind,” Reise said.
Junior Tasi Ana Sanchez is publishing a poem, her first work for Perspectives, titled “Readers, Listeners and Poets.”
“I submitted several pieces to Perspectives, and a theme while I was brainstorming was to find a quote that really resonated with me and just write as much as I can about the thoughts that came with it. The quote I used for my published piece was, ‘You cannot speak in poetry to someone who only reads’,” Sanchez said.
Publishing for an ECC magazine can be nerve-wracking, especially if it is for the first time. Sanchez describes her reaction as a mix of fear and excitement.
“Being selected was very exciting for me. It felt great to know I could share my work with the world, but it was also scary. I feel vulnerable sometimes. My writing often alludes to real problems I face, and I sometimes feel exposed by sharing my writing,” Sanchez said.
Listing “published author” in a college or job resume can show great creativity, dedication, and communication skills, this can help students stand out. Perspectives gives students an opportunity to expand their writing skills.
“Perspectives means a lot to me because I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for anyone who wants to pursue writing. Even though I’m not personally exploring a further education in English, this is a huge part of who I am,” Sanchez said.
The eight publishers will be honored at a banquet on April 9 at Mastricola’s on Broadway, along with all other ECC publishing authors.
