'Writers of Color' featured in latest Indiana Review

In its twenty-fifth year of existence, Indiana Review has come out with its Spring 2002 edition, titled "Writers of Color." As the only special issue devoted to writers of various ethnic backgrounds in the literary magazine's history, the spring publication features fiction, nonfiction, art, poetry and book reviews from writers around the world.\n"I just felt the literary market for quality writers of color wasn't good," said Shannon Gibney, the outgoing editor for IR and editor for "Writers of Color."\n"It was seen as a great opportunity to showcase the diversity of work that writers of color are producing," Gibney said. "There's just such a wide variety of styles, content and approaches."\nWhile the spring issue was only open to writers of diverse backgrounds, IR continuously accepts submissions for future issues.\n"Last year we had roughly 2,500 submissions in fiction," Gibney said. Entries go through a rigorous reviewing process where eventually the best make it to a voting session. IR staff members and volunteers vote to see if the work is acceptable for future issues.\nGibney said her start as a writer began at a young age. \n"I loved stories and loved reading as a little kid," she said. "I loved making up stories, and that desire to make that step and express myself creatively only became more intense as I got older."\n"Each of us has certain problems and questions that are ultimately irresolvable," Gibney said. "We can work through them by exploring them creatively -- and for me that means writing."\n"I've always been interested in making things. It's important for an artist to be involved in the business side of things," she said in reference to being an editor for IR.\nDavid J Daniels, who specializes in poetry, is the incoming IR editor and associate editor for "Writers of Color." \n"Because IR has been around so long, writers from around the world are familiar with it," Daniels said. \nHe said that although he gets approximately 800 poems a month, only around three make it into the journal. Just as all other entries, poems go through a number of difficult steps before a decision to print is made.\n"We're a democratic bunch," Daniels said. "You never know what you're going to get, but you know it's going to be high quality."\nDaniels' history with poetry dates back to when he saw a poet, Maxine Kumin, in the eighth grade. \n"She sort of shocked me. She had cuss words in her poems even though they were prayers, and that thrilled me," Daniels said. "Poetry thrilled me because I saw it as a way to get away with nasty stuff in the form of a poem. With IR I get to read tons of things. I keep myself familiar with poets and love being in the position of seeing their work come across my desk."\n"The idea that you're carving out literary culture for a couple of years is phenomenal," he said. "There are a million ways of writing a poem … there's no really good definition of what a poem even is. And it's amazing to me to think that someone would rather sit down and write a poem rather than make money or watch TV. It's such an anti-capitalist thing," he said. "It's a strange thing."\nFiction editor for "Writers of Color" and incoming associate editor, Danit Brown, also feels that IR is a great way for different types of writers to showcase their talents. Brown also had a fiction entry published in IR before coming to IU.\n"I want to continue the tradition that IR has of being open to different styles of writing and attracting writers with diverse backgrounds," Brown said. She will be working on a future edition of IR entitled, "Between Cultures," that will showcase just that.\nPeople from around the world and all walks of life are welcome to make submissions, but Gibney said IU faculty, staff, students, employees and administrators are not permitted to have their work considered for publication. Since IU helps with the magazine's funding, Gibney said it would represent a conflict of interest and it would be difficult to remain completely objective. Because of IR's long tradition of maintaining objectivity and meticulous reviewing, it has been recognized as one of the top 50 fiction markets by Writer's Digest and was selected as the first place winner of the American Literary Magazine Award in 1996.\nThose whose work is accepted for publication earn $5 a page with a $10 minimum, and they also receive a contributor's copy and a year's subscription to the literary magazine. Copies are available for $8 in the Indiana Review office located in BH 465. The book is also used for W103, Introductory Creative Writing, and is available as a text for other classes.\nFor further subscription and submission information, those interested can log on to http://www.indiana.edu/~inreview/ir.html.