By Olivia McElwain

When I was staying on campus as prospective student, I kept hearing murmurs of a great literary magazine called Coe Review.  However, I was under a lot of pressure because of interviews, and I completely forgot about it until my first day of classes at Coe College.  My literature professor told us all he would give us five dollars we joined Coe Review.  I needed five dollars, so I decided to go to the meeting.

I knew as soon as I sat down that this magazine had some magic to it.  Because students ran it, they got to voice our opinions as much as they wanted about the submissions.  I knew once I heard people trying to decipher the poetry and find meaning among the lines, that these were the people with whom I wanted to work.  Their passion about the work that they have to put into to the magazine could inspire anybody looking into the meeting.  They sure inspired me.

I began as a reader, but now it is a year later, and I am a communications editor for Coe Review.   I like that we accept work from around the world.  In a meeting today, we discussed a piece of poetry that was sent to us from Paris.  We have published writers send us poetry and fiction, and we of course accept Coe students’ work.  The wide variety of work permits a more interesting magazine.  When we choose pieces, the students are the ones picking the work, and that’s unique to Coe.  The editors are students, and they have the final say on the poems we accept.  While our advising professor has say in the magazine, it is the majority of students who pick the work that goes into the magazine.  I think this shows what our generation wants to read as well as how mature college readers are.

Joining Coe Review is one of the best things any Coe student can do.  The work we put into the magazine shows our dedication to our craft, as well as our passion.  We create two volumes a year that demonstrate who we are as writers and editors.  Coe Review is a powerful magazine that is created by the students, for the students.