'Elm Leaves Journal' Celebrates New Edition

Members of SUNY Buffalo State’s Writing Program are hosting a celebration Sunday, February 9, for the release of the winter 2013 edition of Elm Leaves Journal, a campus publication of poetry, fiction, and essays. It will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall and is free and open to the public.

English Department lecturer Ed Taylor and visiting writers Greg Lawless, Matthew Bookin, Gary Percesepe, Ted Pelton, and Barbara Cole, will give short readings from their work. Refreshments will be served and copies of the journal will be available for a reduced priced.

The celebration provides “an opportunity to mingle with Elm Leaves staff, along with its authors, and those who support the magazine,” said Kim Chinquee, associate professor of English and ELJ editor. “We are grateful for the support we’ve received from the School of Arts and Humanities, the School of Education, the English Department, and funds from an anonymous donor that made this possible.”

In existence since 1948, ELJ has featured thousands of poems, stories, essays, and book reviews through the years. However, this edition, titled “The Wild Edition”—reflecting the number of stories that feature zoos or wild animals—marks many firsts for the journal. It’s the first open to writers outside of Buffalo State, the first to be published by an outside professional printer, and the first hard copy printed since 2011.

Along with writers in Buffalo, contributors hail from cities across the United States and Australia.

"I’m very proud of what Elm Leaves has become," Chinquee said. Students in the 2013 fall section of Chinquee’s Literary Publishing course helped select the featured works and handled the editing and layout. She added that she plans on taking copies to the Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference in Seattle at the end of February.

"I think it’s so important," Chinquee said. "A printed literary journal gives a face to our writing major and becomes a good recruiting tool for this selective program."

The next issue of ELJ, to be published in the fall, will be called “The Harvest Edition.”

The journal is open to all writers. Send submissions to eljbuffalo@gmail.com.