by Anna Šverclová ’23
After a lively 2022 org fair, we in the English department thought it might be a good idea to spotlight some of Macalester’s english-y writing/literary organizations right here in the newsletter. We reached out to six student orgs to hand-deliver their blurbs right to your inbox:
Mac Weekly
The Mac Weekly is Macalester’s independent student newspaper. We have 5 sections: news, features, opinion, arts, and sports. We are also looking for staff photographers and people interested in media and web design. The commitment level for TMW is whatever you want it to be, and you also aren’t tied to one particular section. Sections typically meet on Tuesday evenings, and we lay out the paper on Wednesday evenings. If you want to get involved, you can stop by our office in the 30BigWal laundry room on a Tuesday or Wednesday after 6:30 PM. You can also email [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] for more information about the different sections and how to get involved with us!
The Hegemonocle
The Hegemonocle is Macalester’s finest (albeit only) satire magazine! The Hege publishes twice a semester, usually around midterms and finals, and its humor caters to student experiences at Macalester. The magazine is multimedia, with content ranging from fake ads and comic strips to multi-page stories. Since humor is subjective, Hege also includes many styles of humor and covers a multitude of subjects! Past pieces have included Grille cocktail menus, Mock Weekly-style news stories, Mac majors as D & D characters, and hedgehog fanfiction! Students curious about joining the Hegemonocle are always welcome to attend weekly meetings from 9 to 10 PM on Thursdays in CC 206. The Hege also accepts submissions from students (and, recently, faculty) who would like to contribute but are unable to attend meetings. You can contact the Hege via our email, [email protected]. You can also follow the Hege on Twitter and Instagram @hegemonocle, see previous issues here, or check out our website here!
Chanter
Chanter has been Macalester’s literature and art magazine for over fifty years! Each semester, Chanter accepts submissions of poetry, short prose, or visual art. During our weekly meetings, we discuss and vote on submissions, and at the end of the semester, the best-received submissions are published in our bi-annual magazine! After a piece is submitted, it is anonymized so that nobody knows the name of the creator until publication (unless an author requests to be anonymous). This way, Chanter minimizes bias in the voting process, and submitting is much less intimidating for creators! Some students may choose to submit pieces that they have not submitted or displayed elsewhere, so getting involved in Chanter is an awesome avenue to see and appreciate work that may not otherwise be highly visible. Anyone interested in learning more about Chanter is always welcome to join our laid-back, low commitment weekly meetings on Thursdays from 7:30 to 8:30 in Old Main 0010! Being good at literary analysis, painting, or other artsy things is definitely not a requirement for joining the org, and membership is also not required to submit. You can see past issues and submission info on the Chanter website here.
A Novel Idea
A Novel Idea is a student led book club perfect for students looking to read more for enjoyment, have a place to talk about books they love, and to meet new people. Typically meeting twice a month to discuss one book voted on monthly, we generally go for fun reads that reflect the general interests of the group. It is a non-academic, low commitment space where everyone is welcome to take a break from class related content. We also hope to plan movie nights, and other additional meetings as group interest dictates. Snacks are provided! Hope to see you there! This year we will be meeting on Mondays, 7-8pm in the fourth floor old main lounge. Students can get involved by emailing [email protected].
Mac Writing Club
The Mac Writing Club is a chill space for people who like to write to gather, chat, and do fun writing prompts and games! It’s a great place to meet like-minded people, gain inspiration and motivation to try new things, and keep writing every week. Sometimes we have snacks! We meet Tuesdays from 7-8pm in Old Main 010!
MacSlams
MacSlams is Macalester’s poetry slam organization, started by Mac Alum, Neil Hilborn! We host weekly writing workshops on Tuesdays from 4:45-6pm in CC 207, and monthly poetry slams in the Weyerhaeuser chapel. We like to bring in professional poets from around the Twin Cities, but we’ve also hosted many famous poets from around the country. Notable past features include Cameron Awkward-Rich, Porsha Olayiwola, Sabrina Benaim, Ariana Brown, and Michael Lee.
Last month, the English department hosted an English Org fair at our weekly coffee house, which featured all of these organizations! Below are some photos from the event.
Thank you to all of the student orgs for your love of writing and literature, and helping Mac students get involved!