Graphic courtesy of the Mount Holyoke Review
This was the first issue of the Review to include art, such as Embry O’Leary FP ’23’s piece (left) and based on poetry by David Nejezchleba ’22.
By Zoë Farr ‘21
Managing Editor of Web
On April 23, the Mount Holyoke Review, a literary magazine out of Mount Holyoke College, held a virtual publishing party for their second completed publication. With 51 attendees, the Zoom session featured nine of its published writers who read their work aloud. While the readers performed, the Zoom chat function was used by some to encourage and praise each other.
The Mount Holyoke Review was founded in 2019 by its three editors-in-chief, Declan Langton ’22, Liz Lewis ’22 and Olivia Brandwein ’22. According to Brandwein, the trio felt strongly about providing a magazine dedicated to writing as an outlet for the Mount Holyoke community. “It’s just really about having a space that’s dedicated to writing and a place where people can share their writing,” Brandwein said. “We really want to have a book that acts as this really nice, shareable collection of work where people can come together and celebrate writing.” Since its inception, the Mount Holyoke Review has continued to grow, developing an 11-person executive board and crediting 24 writers and 23 readers for the second issue alone.
When it comes to what pieces get published, the Mount Holyoke Review tries to base the criteria off of collective opinion with help from the entirety of the organization. From smaller and larger meetings to spreadsheets, all members of the organization are invited to participate in choosing pieces for the publication. “[The editors-in-chief] really try and choose based on what the org wants,” Brandwein commented. “Unless there are any ethical concerns … but we really try and keep [the org’s opinion] in mind.”
Brandwein was one of the readers during the event, presenting her literary prose piece “Presence.” The piece centers around a mime named Peter and his drifting stream of consciousness as he walks around New York City. While Brandwein has been writing her entire life, Assistant Professor of English Anna Maria Hong’s Intro to Creative Writing class helped her identify her literary medium. “[Hong’s class] was really fun, and I think that was actually one of the first times I really tried prose writing,” Brandwein said. “I realized maybe I shouldn’t have been writing poetry because I would write all these bad poems about things like COVID and do decently well, but I wrote one prose piece and did that much better.” While the majority of submissions to the Mount Holyoke Review are poems, the team has started to push for prose pieces in order to diversify the contents of the publication.
Other readers during the virtual event included Ava Provolo ’22, Nadia Niva ’21, Avery Martin ’22, Woodlief McCabe ’23, Regis Reed ’22, Elle Provolo ’22, Emma Nguyen ’24, Peiyun Jiang ’21 and Rebecca Kilroy ’23. Kilroy’s piece “Another Zoom Meeting” was the last reading of the event and acted as a commentary on the monotony and strain of virtual interaction and life.
Brandwein voiced her hope that the Mount Holyoke Review could help bring the Mount Holyoke community together through a mutual appreciation of writing. “Especially now, thinking about the pandemic, I think it would be really great if the Review can be a source of community,” Brandwein said. “I think, going forward and being on campus, I hope it can be … just a way for people to come together.”
All 112 pages of the publication are available on Issuu, allowing readers to virtually enjoy the Mount Holyoke community’s work. Scan the QR code below to enjoy the Review’s second publication. To learn more about the Mount Holyoke Review and their first publication, visit their website https://mountholyokereview.squarespace.com/.
Editor’s note: Declan Langton ’22 and Liz Lewis ’22 are current members of the Mount Holyoke News.