Interview Coordinator

Meet the Interns: Chris Schmidt, Interview Coordinator

Superstition Review

Chris Schmidt is a Literature, Writing, and Film student at ASU’s Polytechnic campus set to graduate in December 2010.

Superstition Review: What is your position with Superstition Review and what are your responsibilities?

Chris Schmidt: As Interview Coordinator, my responsibilities revolve around coordinating and managing the author interviews. This includes maintenance of prospect spreadsheet; solicitation of interviews; collection of responses, bios, and photographs; and transfer of all content for publication.

SR: How did you hear about Superstition Review and what made you decide to get involved?

CS: I heard about Superstition Review in my beginning creative fiction workshop last semester, and about that time I was thinking of publishing as an area I’d like to learn more about. I was more than thrilled to be accepted in the internship!

SR: What are you hoping to take away from your Superstition Review experience?

CS: From my Superstition Review experience, I’m hoping to take away a working knowledge of all the elements that go into the production of a literary magazine, and then bring that expertise into the job market.

SR: Describe one of your favorite literary or artistic works.

CS: My (new) favorite literary work is anything written by author Dan Chaon, particularly Passengers, Remain Calm.

SR: What are you currently reading?

CS: I am currently reading Philip Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? for a Literature on Film class I’m taking this semester.

SR: What other position(s) for Superstition Review would you like to try out?

CS: I’d be interested in trying out any of the other positions for Superstition Review in order to achieve a well-rounded background in the publication process.

SR: Do you prefer reading literary magazines online or in print?

CS: I’m not picky…either online or print depending on where I am at the time.

SR: Besides interning for Superstition Review, how do you spend your time?

CS: Besides interning for Superstition Review, my time is spent as wife to my husband of 21 years, mother of a teenage daughter and three felines, as well as a part-time transcriptionist and full-time student with more credits than I should be taking in one semester.

SR: What is your favorite mode of relaxation?

CS: One word: reading!

SR: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

CS: That’s a fun question…I had to answer that 25 years ago as a high school graduate, and back then one of my three goals was to become a “famous author.” I achieved one of my other two goals, so I’ll stick with that one, trade out the little red Ferrari for a black Jaguar, and add publishing/editing guru to the vision.

Meet the Interns: Melissa Silva, Interview Coordinator

Superstition Review

melissasilva_0Melissa Silva is a Sophomore at Arizona State University majoring in Economics and International Relations.

Superstition Review: What do you do for SR?

Melissa Silva: I’m the Interview Coordinator. I organize potential authors to interview, contact the authors and then become the communication link between the editors and authors.

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

MS: My ENG 102 teacher recommended I become involved.

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

MS: The interview section. I like hearing about how the authors developed each character and where the whole idea had its origins.

SR: Who is your dream contributor to the journal?

MS: Jonathan Safran Foer. He wrote Everything is Illuminated and I love his writing style. His characters are always very beautiful and complex. The format of his novels are always a little out of the box.

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

MS: Because I’m a business student I think an admin job like advertising or funding would be a really great challenge to try out what I’ve learned and get some real-world experience.

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

MS: I’m excited to see who the authors are that are going to be interviewed for the next issue. I’m hoping to be able to contact some of the names that I’ve read and loved.

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

MS: The first book would probably the collection of Winnie the Pooh tales my mom had from when she was younger. Now that I look back on it the lovable characters were just simplified versions of personalities I encounter now. But I loved how unique and special each character was to Christopher Robin.

SR: What are you currently reading?

MS: I just finished Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. It’s a collection of short stories. Her writing is so exact and realistic but somehow it draws a lot of emotion and sympathy from the reader for her characters.

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

MS: I remember I read JD Salinger’s Franny and Zooey while I was going through a hard time. The idea of someone who would help you rationalize out of your own mind trap was a beautiful idea.

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

MS: The title of the class would be “Getting through the Labyrinth.” I remember in the book Looking for Alaska, after the suicide of one of his students, the teacher assigned the class to write a paper on how to get through the labyrinth that is life. They would look into their sources of happiness–religion, texts, friendship, etc–and create a strategy. Finding those things that have meaning and applying them to your own life would be the goal of the class.