Intern Highlights

Meet the Interns: Nicole Dunlap, Photoshop Editor

Superstition Review

nicoledunlap_1Nicole Dunlap is a English Literature Senior at Arizona State University. She is currently the Photoshop Editor for Superstition Review.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR?

Nicole Dunlap: So far I have been formatting headshots and designing various banners and logos for the website and advertisements. I plan to continue these activities throughout the semester and I also plan to do any miscellaneous tasks that will be given to a Photoshop editor.

SR: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

ND: I first heard about Superstition Review through an advertisement for needed interns.

SR: What is your favorite section of SR? Why?

ND: I like the nonfiction section, just because I tend towards the creative nonfiction genre.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal?

ND: I would love if my friend Kara would contribute some of her artwork. She does mostly performance art, but her paintings and prints are amazing; I would love to help publish some of her art.

SR: What job, other than your own, would you like to try out in the journal?

ND: I would love to be a nonfiction editor. I would love to read submissions and get a feel for the behind-the-scenes operations of the publication process.

SR: What are you most excited for in the upcoming issue?

ND: I’m excited to read the submissions, of course. But I’m mostly excited to see how the redesigning of the website will look.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

ND: I’ve had several favorite books but the earliest one that I can remember is a book called Sirena. It was a young adult novel about the Siren mermaids–the author wrote a series of novels that reworked common stories or fairy tales. She put her own twist on them, added in a bit of drama and made them all great for teenagers to read.

SR: What are some of your favorite websites to waste time on or distract you from homework?

ND: www.stumbleupon.com (if you don’t have an account here, you need to make one), www.etsy.com, www.flickr.com.

SR: What are your feelings on digital medium?

ND: I’m hoping that being involved with Superstition Review will help rid of me this opinion, but it’s hard for me to take digital literary pieces seriously. Blogs have to be especially entertaining or humorous for me to like them. And similarly, literature needs to be especially engaging to hold my attention. I’m also a person who prefers a photo to a digital file, a printed page over a PDF. I just like tangible things better.

Do you create art? Tell us about a project you’re working on.

I’m always tweeking my own photographs, trying to decide on a series to shoot, a series to put together.  Currently, I’m working on putting together a poetry/photography book.  I’ve printed out a sentence or two on a transparency so I can bring it into the darkroom with me to make it a part of the printing process.

Meet the Interns: Jenny Brundage, Art Editor

Superstition Review

jennybrundage_0Jenny Brundage, a senior at Arizona State University majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in Communications, is currently one of the Superstition Review Art Editors.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR? Please list job activities/explanation.

Jenny Brundage: Art Editor–solicit art, help decide both what’s chosen and how it’s displayed, do artist interviews, acquire and edit artists’ bios, acquire artist pics for their bios.

SR: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

JB: I don’t recall. I do remember Trish being one of my favorite teachers I’ve had at ASU–although we’ve never met in real life.

SR: What is your favorite section of SR? Why?

JB: Art, because it truly suits the digital medium.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal?

JB: Dorothea Tanning. She’s somewhere near the century mark, but still alive and working. She was associated with the Surrealist and Dadaist movements, as an artist, but really did her own thing. She’s a legendary painter, a skilled poet, and an excellent creative nonfiction author.

SR: What job, other than your own, would you like to try out in the journal?

JB: One of the managerial or PR types of positions.

SR: What are you most excited for in the upcoming issue?

JB: I’m most excited to see the completed issue, all new and shiny.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

JB: No Flying in the House in Kindergarten was my first big book, and so it was an achievement as well as a fun book.

SR: What are you currently reading?

JB: I recently finished volume 5 of Ross Campbell’s Wet Moon, which was amazing and ended on a huge cliffhanger.

SR: What are some of your favorite literary links?

JB: My favorite writing site is Ralan.com, and most of my other favorites (Submitting to the Black Hole, Preditors and Editors, etc…) link from there. It’s where I check market listings and hear information. Plus, it’s free! I also subscribe to the free mini-version of Publishers Weekly.

SR: Have you ever submitted to or been published in a literary/art magazine? How was that process? What was it like, waiting?

JB: Yes, I have had a story in The Pedestal Magazine, which you can still find in their archives (“The Jig”). They were quick to reply with a “yes”–I think it was under two months. It was standard process: sign the contract and get the check. It was nice having my story discussed in that issue’s intro, not just seeing the story itself appear.

I’ve never had my art in any literary magazines (might’ve modeled for, but not created). I’ve had paintings and photography in larger shows (subject-specific, not my work featured) at Alwun House in the past. I’ve sold a commission before, but don’t really focus on art because I’m not that great at it.

Meet the Interns: Sean Carstensen, Prose Team Manager

Superstition Review

seancarstensen_0Senior English Literature Major Sean Carstensen is the Prose Team Manager for Superstition Review.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR?

Sean Carstensen: It’s my responsibility to function as a liaison between the prose editors and management of SR. The Prose team as a whole is responsible for selecting the works to be published in the upcoming issue; my role in the team is to keep sight of the larger picture and assist the prose editors in any way I can while simultaneously working to streamline communication within the SR team.

SR: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

SC: I found out about Superstition Review through an English Department email encouraging students to apply for the internship. It sounded like something I would be interested in, so I applied and decided to take a summer course which would prepare me for a management position in the Fall 2009 issue. Being involved in publishing a literary journal was more appealing to me than the traditional types of internships.

SR: What is your favorite section of SR? Why?

SC: My favorite section of SR would have to be the poetry. The density of meaning and ambiguity of the poems is what separates them from prose: I can read a fiction/nonfiction piece once through and feel as though I have a solid idea of the message; poems are completely different. The first read through a poem familiarizes me with the meter and structure, but the meaning often remains uncertain and ambiguous even after several reads.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal? Talk about him/her.

SC: I feel like Stephen King would be an extremely interesting interview. After reading previous interviews, I would want to ask him about his writing process because it sounds different from traditional methods which emphasis planning and structure; King incorporates a degree of spontaneity and oftentimes does not know how his main plot conflicts will be resolved.

SR: What job, other than your own, would you like to try out in the journal?

SC: Blogging has always been something I’d like to try out and I think that it would be exciting to be responsible for an ongoing blog about Superstition Review. I think that a lot of potential readers will first find out about SR through the blog, and I believe that maintaining the page would be an intriguing combination of journalism and marketing.

SR: What are you most excited for in the upcoming issue?

SC: I’m really hoping to discover some new writers through the open submissions. I know that we’ll receive quality work from the solicited submissions, but I would be thrilled to see some unsolicited work make its way into the final issue as well.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

SC: One day my fourth grade teacher started reading us a book called The Phantom Tollbooth and I was absolutely transfixed. Later that day I happened to see the same book in my older brother’s room, so I stole it and proceeded to finish the entire thing. The mash up of wordplay, riddles and rhymes in the story of a boy named Milo were completely overwhelming and unlike anything I had seen before.

SR: What artist have you really connected with, either in subject matter, work, or motto?

SC: I would have to say Oscar Wilde. The Picture of Dorian Gray was an eye opening read, but it’s really Wilde’s criticism that I connect with: the notion that an observer deduces meaning from art by contributing part of their self to the work was new to me.

SR: What would be your dream class to take at ASU? What would the title be and what would it cover?

SC: A class on Aleister Crowley–I’ve read some less than complementary things about him, but have never actually read any of his work. I believe someone once called him “the wickedest man in the world” and I would be interested to see what a writer has to say to earn such harsh criticism.

SR: Do you write? Tell us about a project you’re working on.

SC: I have recently reconnected with three of my old friends from high school and we’re trying to start mailing a journal between the four of us; we’ll be able to reflect on how much has changed in four years while staying touch with one another in a unique fashion.

Meet the Interns: Samantha Novak, Reading Series Editor

Superstition Review

samanthanovak_0Reading Series Editor Samantha Novak is a sophomore at Arizona State University majoring in Global Studies and minoring in Spanish and Urban Planning.

Superstition Review: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

Samantha Novak: I actually came to the Review by a slightly unconventional route. I am not an English major, but I heard about Superstition Review from my Honors English 102 teacher. She proposed it as a really neat opportunity and said that any of us interested should apply. I did, and here I am!

SR: What is your favorite section of SR? Why?

SN: I think my favorite section of SR is probably the art section, I have always found photography incredibly powerful and enjoy having the opportunity to be exposed to new and different artists.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal?

SN: My dream contributor would probably be Ruth Reichl. She has written some extremely powerful stories about her relationship with her family and with food (Reichl was a New York Times food critic and the editor-in-chief of Gourmet). I can really relate to this relationship since I also love food so much.

SR: What job, other than your own, would you like to try out in the journal?

SN: I really enjoy the job I am working at right now, but if I was doing something else I think I would like to try out being the blogger. It would force me to be more methodical with my blogging, which I think would bleed over to increased blogging in my other blogs.

SR: What are you most excited for in the upcoming issue?

SN: I am really excited to be able to experience new artists and writers. I am always looking for new work to read.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

SN: I fell in love with The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. The novels feature a really strong, feisty princess protagonist that would rather swordfight than do embroidery. When her parents try to set her up in an arranged marriage she runs away to be a dragon’s princess. Magic, dragons, pretty dresses, sly references and humor–what’s not to love? I brought the books with me to college and still read them when I’m feeling down.

SR: What are you currently reading?

SN: I am bout to start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson.

SR: What are some of your favorite websites to waste time on or distract you from homework?

SN: I love mentalfloss.com, cakewrecks.com, Facebook and various food blogs.

SR: Do you create art? Tell us about a project you’re working on.

SN: I do photography, and I am currently in the post processing stage of some photographs I took this summer when I spent a month in China.

Meet the Interns: Kellie Parisek, Poetry & Art Manager

Superstition Review

kellieparisek_0Poetry and Art team manager, Kellie Parisek, is a senior at Arizona State University majoring in English Literature.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR?

Kellie Parisek: I help plan tasks for the art and poetry editors and set deadlines.

SR: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

KP: A professor told the class about it and I wrote an article for The State Press about the magazine before applying for the internship.

SR: What is your favorite section of SR? Why?

KP: I like the poetry section because I love reading new expressions of thought from so many different people who have so many different points of view.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal?

KP: I think Nicole Dunlap does an amazing job.

SR: What job, other than your own, would you like to try out in the journal?

KP: I think it would be an wonderful opportunity to give editing a try.

SR: What are you most excited for in the upcoming issue?

KP: I am most excited to see the intern’s work who I am working with pay off.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

KP: I remember reading the book, Star Girl as a child. I loved that book because I felt like I kind of related to the main character and it became personable to me.

SR: What are you currently reading?

KP: My text books.

SR: What are some of your favorite websites to waste time on or distract you from homework?

KP: My blog and my friend’s blogs.

SR: What would be your dream class to take at ASU? What would the title be and what would it cover?

KP: I would love to take a journalism class at ASU. I took one at another school but I would like to see how different ASU was versus my other school and what new insights I would gain from taking it at ASU.

Meet the Interns: Peggy Dale, Contest Coordinator

Superstition Review

margaritedale_0Peggy Dale, Contest Coordinator, is a senior at Arizona State University majoring in English.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR?

Peggy Dale: I am coordinating the very first SR writing contest; basically I’m setting the parameters and then coordinating to make sure everything goes smoothly.

SR: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

PD: I received an email last semester, and I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to grow in experience and help SR as well.

SR: What is your favorite section of SR? Why?

PD: I love it all; it really is a well thought out professionally executed magazine/journal. I guess I’ll say the Fiction section, because I love the scope of fiction and its story; however, you can say that of all great writing, so again I love it all.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal?

PD: Someone who has not yet been discovered, a shining light who will electrify the world; someone we give a helping hand to get started.

SR: What job, other than your own, would you like to try out in the journal?

PD: I would like to try editing the Fiction section.

SR: What are you most excited for in the upcoming issue?

PD: I’m excited to be coordinating the first contest, seeing it completed, finding an exciting talent, generating more interest in Superstition Review.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

PD: I fell in love with Heidi, because my mother used to lay beside me and read it to me every night. That story of love and searching opened the world of literature to me, and the safe, warm, personal time with my mother worked to help me associate reading and peace. I’ve always loved reading and writing, and it all began with Heidi.

SR: What are you currently reading?

PD: The Edge Chronicles Beyond The Deep Woods by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

SR: Do you write?

PD: Yes, I am a writer. I am working on two books right now. One is a fiction story of modern troll warriors with several great twists (a lot of fun). The second is an historical autobiography. I’m very excited about both; they have tremendous potential.

SR: Do you create art?

PD: I love to create art of all sorts. I’m working on a family photo quilt for my daughter; it’s taking a lot longer than I had hoped, but it should be irreplaceable when it’s finished.

Meet the Interns: Lynda Farrell, Content Coordinator

Superstition Review

lyndafarrell_0Content Coordinator, Lynda Farrell, is a senior at ASU West majoring in Political Science and English.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR? Please list job activities/explanation.

Lynda Farrell: I’m the Content Coordinator, which basically means that I make sure that everything that is supposed to make it in the final product, makes it in the final product, and doesn’t get lost somewhere along the way. And I keep it all organized while I’m at it.

SR: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

LF: This is my first time working with Superstition Review, and I heard about this internship from Professor Murphy, right after taking her Poetry 310 class.

SR: What is your favorite section of SR? Why?

LF: The art section, because I love seeing the different examples of people’s interpretations of life.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal?

LF: Probably Taylor Mali (look up his work on YouTube), because I think he’s very, very clever. At the very least an interview would be interesting from him.

SR: What job, other than your own, would you like to try out in the journal?

LF: I think I would like to try out the Photoshop Editor’s position. While I’m not great at Photoshop, I like what I’ve done on the program before.

SR: What are you most excited for in the upcoming issue?

LF: Seeing how it all comes together. I know that’s kind of a weak answer, vague, but it’s really my favorite part of a project. I love the feeling of accomplishment at the end of something I and many others have worked hard on.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

LF: Oh, wow. Probably my first book, Let’s Pretend. It was the first time I was able to read on my own, and it opened a whole new avenue, a whole new universe. My mom’s favorite story to tell about my childhood is the entire year where I walked around with that book, until it fell completely apart. I was devastated.

SR: What are some of your favorite websites to waste time on or distract you from homework?

LF: huffingtonpost.com. It’s a news site that, well, leans left. The best part is the way it’s organized; I can see each story and choose which ones I want to pick, or I can choose to read only the US Politics site, or only the World Politics site, or Health, or Entertainment. Not every story on each makes it to the main page, but I have to say I’m on that site more than once a day, usually. Great for learning about the world and time killing.

SR: What would be your dream class to take at ASU? What would the title be and what would it cover?

LF: Okay, there’s two that I’ve always wanted to see listed, but never have. The first is Underwater Basket Weaving, because although I’ve always heard it as a saying about how easy some classes are, I think it would be really difficult, and really interesting. I mean, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve never done any kind of craft project underwater. It would at least be an experience. Other than that, I would want to take a history class about Women in the Renaissance, or maybe something about how there have been values placed on women in most cultures and times.

SR: What are your feelings on digital medium?

LF: I have massively mixed feelings about digital media. On one hand, it’s a great tool for connecting quickly and efficiently. On the other hand, it has cut out a lot of personal interaction, leaving people sadly lacking in people skills. I love my Kindle because it is easier to take while traveling, it takes less raw material from the earth, and the books end up being less expensive (and my bookshelves stop looking like a disaster area); but there is absolutely no replacement for being able to hold a new book, smell it, and just feel the tactile sensation that reminds me of all that I loved in childhood. I will say that I had absolutely no problem replacing CDs and tapes with my iPod. Not a single qualm.

Meet the Interns: Riki Meier, Fiction Editor

Superstition Review

rikimeier_0Fiction Editor, Riki Meier, is a senior majoring in English Literature, part of The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR?

Riki Meier: I’m a fiction editor, so I get to solicit work from authors I like, read submissions, and help determine which stories will be published in the next issue.

SR: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

RM: I first heard about Superstition Review through WORD: Creative Writers @ ASU, another internship for which I’m serving, filling the role of President. As WORD’s President, I helped advertise the reading series to our members. I later learned through the Honors College listserv that Superstition Review was accepting applications for interns, and the opportunity just seemed too fantastic to pass up!

SR: What is your favorite section of SR?

RM: The Fiction section is my favorite, of course! Fiction is my passion. I love reading fiction (it’s a requirement for Literature majors) and I also write fiction as well.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal?

RM: Oh–I have two dream contributors! There’s no way I could choose between them. I would absolutely love to be able to publish Toni Morrison or Gabriel Garcia Marquez. They are both my literary idols.

SR: What job, other than your own, would you like to try out in the journal?

RM: Honestly, I’m so excited about my work this semester as fiction editor that I find it hard to consider any other positions at the journal!

SR: What are you most excited for in the upcoming issue?

RM: I am most excited about getting to contact my favorite authors and asking them to submit work. I think it’s a chance of a lifetime. When else will I be able to contact Nobel Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, etc., and ask them for a story or an interview? Just the thought of being able to interview someone like Marquez or Morrison is absolutely thrilling to me.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

RM: Actually, the first thing I remember falling in love with when I was little was Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings.” That story introduced me to magical realism, which I absolutely adore. It was also the first piece of literature that really got me thinking about larger social issues.

What are you currently reading?

RM: Right now I’m reading a lot of books on feminist theory, postcolonial theory, and cybercultural studies for research projects I’m working on. Other than my work at Superstition Review, I don’t have time to read anything else this semester, unfortunately. However, I have a copy of Kurt Vonnegut’s Welcome to the Monkey House, Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, and Carlos Fuentes’ The Death of Artemio Cruz piled up on my nightstand just waiting for the day after final exams!

SR: What would be your dream class to take at ASU? What would the title be and what would it cover?

RM: That’s easy! It’s an MFA class currently being taught at ASU by Alberto Rios called “Magical Realism.” Not only does the class study great works written in the magical realism tradition, but you get to learn magical realism writing from a great magical realism writer!

SR: What are your feelings on digital medium?

RM: Oh, that’s a loaded question for me as I’m studying an online book discussion group for one of my big research projects. New media allows for a new hybridity of virtual/physical, public/private, sacred/profane, work/play, and even male/female. It is through narrative discourse that discursive and cultural practices are formed and diffused throughout society, and these practices, in turn, work to form the framework within which identities are constructed. As media types and forms of expression evolves and extends to virtual environments, a deeper exploration of cybercultural studies is necessary to deconstruct and understand the new identities being formed.

I believe there is an intrinsic connection between literature studies and rhetoric studies, and that there is an evolution of literature and narrative in progress that is the result of technological advancements. Today, multiple narrative forms—including literature—are evolving and adapting to online and multimodal environments. I maintain we must study communities of practice to understand the impact these virtual environments have on narrative and on the people who produce and consume these narratives.

Meet the Interns: Timothy Allen, Website Designer

Superstition Review

timothyallen_0_0Timothy Allen, Website Designer for Superstition Review, major in Writing for Literature & Film. He is a senior this semester.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR?

Timothy Allen: I make sure the website is properly formatted and looks good, and that all of the content from our various authors and artists is properly displayed.

SR: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

TA: This is my second semester at SR. I heard about the class through an e-mail last year and thought it sounded interesting for experience, since my intent–back then–was to possibly get into website designing as a career.

SR: What is your favorite section of SR?

TA: I would have to say Art, because it takes more creativity and work on my part to get it all displayed properly; it’s logistically interesting.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal?

TA: Stephen King. There isn’t much to say about him that you don’t already know, except that he’s a master at what he does.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

TA: The Wizard Children of Finn by Mary Tannen. I just liked the way the story took two kids from this ordinary world and put them in a somewhat extraordinary one.

SR: What are you currently reading?

TA: I’m currently reading the 5th book in the Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, and will also soon be starting on the Rose of the Prophet trilogy by the same authors.

SR: Do you write? Tell us about a project you’re working on.

TA: I am currently (after a seven-year hiatus) starting to work on a couple of fiction novels again. One, about a little boy who learns that he can sing miracles into existence, and another about a group of people who’ve decided they’ve had it with America’s “decline” and move off to an island to start a new, better society.

SR: Tell us about an art project you’re working on.

TA: I’m currently designing and building three other websites besides SR, including my own site at Angel Author, a site for a business idea that my friend has for Blast’n Beans, and a site for my capstone project in my major.

Meet the Interns: Megan Kiwor, Submissions Coordinator

Superstition Review

megankiwor_0Megan Kiwor, Submissions Coordinator, is a member of the Content Team here at SR. She is a sophomore of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, majoring in English: Creative Writing.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR?

Megan Kiwor: I receive the submissions sent to SR, organize all the information into a spreadsheet, then post the works for the respective editors to review.

SR: How did you hear about or get involved with Superstition Review?

MK: I received an email about Superstition Review having an internship program and really wanted to be a part of it.

SR: What is your favorite section of SR?

MK: I think it would have to be the Poetry section because I love poetry, I’m always writing myself so it’s interesting to read other people’s thoughts and ideas made into poetry.

SR: What job, other than your own, would you like to try out in the journal?

MK: I think I would like to try, of course, a job in the poetry group but also maybe something with events for SR.

SR: What are you most excited for in the upcoming issue?

MK: I think that I was a part of it–that’s a pretty cool thing knowing you worked on getting a literary magazine going, especially when being involved with writing is what you’d like to do with your life.

SR: What was the first book you remember falling in love with and what made it so special?

MK: Among the Hidden was the first novel I read that I loved. It was about society controlling the population rate and food supplies by only allowing families to have two children. I read it in 4th grade, and I think even then I found “what if” stories fascinating. I liked it because it wasn’t too far out of the realm of possibility but it wasn’t going to happen tomorrow either.

SR: What are you currently reading?

MK: Currently I’m re-reading Canterbury Tales for an English class and I’m starting the next book, a teen girl read, called Private. I started it when I went to private high school and it was interesting comparing it to my high school, and then I just started loving the series.

SR: What artist have you really connected with, either in subject matter, work, or motto?

MK: Emily Dickinson was the first poet I ever read, I think in 5th grade. Her work really inspired me and got me interested in writing. I can still remember the poem I memorized in 5th grade for a class.

SR: Do you write? Tell us about a project you’re working on.

MK: I write every free moment I have. I started writing poetry in 7th grade and since then I haven’t been able to stop. This last summer I put all my poems and short stories together in a journal so I can keep them in one place, my collective of poems and stories I hope to one day publish.