East Mississippi Community College’s “Syzygy” literary magazine took home even more accolades from the 2018 Mississippi Community College Writing Association’s annual workshop and contest.
For the second year, the annual journal received firstplace of all 13 community colleges in Mississippi. The magazine received second place the year prior and first place for at least three years prior. Some EMCC students were also recognized individually for their writing at the conference, which was held this year at Jones County Junior College’s Ellisville campus. EMCC student Anna Wood won honorable mention in the short fiction category for her short story “Bad Habits Die Hard,” while Emilee Wilcox received an honorable mention in the literary essay category. Students from all across the state competed in the categories of creative writing, dramatic fiction, literary essay, poetry and short fiction. Due to timing constraints the magazine judged is from the previous year. Several EMCC students also had first place winning stories in the 2016-2017 edition.
EMCC English instructor Marilyn Ford thanked the college’s administration for allowing the continued publishing of a print journal.
“We’ve just been very fortunate that we’ve had the support to continue to do a hard copy publication instead of an online publication,” Ford said. “A lot of students have been very grateful to have the hard copy. It just seems to be more important and more significant when they can actually have a hard copy to keep and to hold, rather than having it in the world of the internet.”
Students from all across the EMCC system submit writing and other art to “Syzygy,” which is then examined and judged by EMCC faculty. Selections making it to the magazine number between 25 and 30, with some students having multiple submissions published.
“This is all of our EMCC kids,” Ford said. “The submissions are due usually late fall right before we break for Christmas, and then over Christmas break, those that are evaluating, or faculty judges begin to examine all the submissions. Normally, we have upwards of 150 to 200 different submissions in the literature part.”
Ford also discussed the importance of publications like “Syzygy” in furthering the liberal arts.
“In the last few decades, the liberal arts have lost some ground in their significance,” Ford said. “So many people are specializing, and it seems like the liberal arts, the theatre, the literature, the dance have shifted down to a lower priority under the maths and reading and science classes, but many studies have proven that fiction in particular makes us more empathetic human beings, that the power of the spoken and written word still is monumental as part of our expression.”