SE Campus is releasing a new issue of its literary journal Compass on Oct. 27 for the first time in nearly eight years.
Compass is a collection of student and faculty works of art including poetry, short stories and photography. Founded in 2010, Compass produced journals annually until 2018.
Yolanda Wright and Martin Molina, SE assistant professors of English and art, respectively, began the process of reviving the literary journal over a year ago. Wright said they wanted to honor the old Compass while breathing new life into it.
“The renewed Compass honors those who gave the publication its first direction while creating space for new voices and new forms of expression,” Wright said. “Our mission is to celebrate the talent, the artistry, creativity and humanity within Southeast, to strengthen our community through the work that we create, share and experience together.”
Wright, Molina and other faculty handled the planning, design and submission process for this release, but Wright hopes to hand over the reins to students now that they have established guidelines.
Arts and humanities administrative support specialist Thien Nguyen acted as editorial adviser for photography for the new Compass. He said readers can expect to see a variety of images that explore people, places and everyday moments, including scenes from campus life and events, along with images inspired by architecture, landscapes and street photography.
“I think there’s something special about seeing different forms of creative expression, whether that’s writing, photography, visual art or other creative work, brought together in one place,” Nguyen said. “The release of this first journal is more than just the launch of a publication. It’s the return of a creative outlet where people can share their stories, ideas and talents with others.”
Wright said the journal will feature the work of Debriana McLemore, a SE student who won the spoken word poetry slam last semester.
“She is a very talented poet,” Wright said. “I believe that she could have a career as a spoken word poet. That, for me, is exciting, seeing her develop and knowing that talent is represented here.”
professor Martin Molina submitted for The Compass. (DOMINIC DEPAULE)
McLemore is a nursing student who plans to shift her focus to surgical technology. She’s been writing since middle school, and over the last 16 years, she’s worked on poems, an autobiography and a children’s book. She’s competed both on and off campus, and she said Wright shows up to support her.
“I really appreciate that because I don’t have a lot of family out here, and the ones who I do have out here never really show up for me, other than my husband,” McLemore said. “So that was really great to have support like that.”
Wright said literary publications encourage engaged learning, communication and collaboration for students, and they walk away with fundamental skills that are sought out by all employers, no matter what profession.
SE public health student Chiememalam Uchechi has been writing for roughly four years. She submitted a collection of poems, including one inspired by TCC’s janitors.
“I got the inspiration one day when I was sitting in the library, and I just saw a gentleman walk by, and I was like, ‘I’ve seen this guy a lot of times in this school, and this is the first time I’m actually noticing him,’” Uchechi said. “Then I just started to write about that and then expanded into people that keep the place going that are not really noticed and are not really observed.”
Molina said it’s important for art students to publish their work because it gives them a physical artifact to hold onto, and it’s a reflection of their artistic development. He said it can give students the confidence needed to keep their creativity alive once they’re out of school.
Wright and Molina began rebooting Compass because of a faculty mentor project, where Molina worked with Wright on creative goals and ideas.
“I think Yolanda is amazing. I was kind of like her mentor as she was coming in, but that quickly flipped,” Molina said. “She’s got this really great sense of presence, especially in her active duty toward students and learning. She’s going to be able to keep it [Compass] alive for several years just because she’s so invested in it.”
