By Mathew Shaw/reporter
Ten SE authors shared their creative works during a reception on SE Campus Oct. 1.
The event recognized the release of the 2013 edition of The Compass, a SE publication showcasing the artistic and literary works of students and faculty.
Presented works included poetry, essays and short speeches. Meanwhile, a slideshow presentation of the various works of art within the publication was shown to the audience.
“I turned something in every year because I like to write,” English instructor Mary Pritchard said.
Pritchard has had works published in the last four editions of The Compass.
SE student Carla Lopes submitted two poems and one short story. She said she was inspired to write one of her poems, “The Patriot,” after a talk she had with a veteran. Lopes said Brazil, her home country, has no veteran culture.
“I wrote that poem as a form of tribute to veterans and also as a form of respect to the U.S., which is also my home,” she said.
The 2013 edition of The Compass is dedicated to Jerry Coats, liberal arts dean, though some may know him for his drag performance in the SE theater department’s production of Hairspray last spring.
“He believes in the importance of the arts as part of education for everyone,” Pennie Boyett, English and journalism instructor and Compass adviser, said about Coats.
Coats sees The Compass as being for students, first and foremost.
“We try to keep the ratio of student-faculty very high,” he said. “Eighty-five percent of what’s published comes from students.”
Coats also said that students decide on what gets published.
The Compass is an award-winning publication. In 2010 and 2012, it won awards from the Community College Humanities Association, and in 2012, it also won the top award from Sigma Kappa Delta, an honor society for English majors. It is one of the top 12 creative arts magazines in the U.S., Coats said.
