Kaitlyn Hart
Life Editor
Many times in a writer’s life, it can seem as if nobody cares what you’re writing. Especially as a young writer, it can feel as though you’re back in high school. Writing essays just for the sake of passing, foregoing any real meaning or chance of your voice being heard by someone other than your teachers. It can feel as if you’re screaming into the never ending void, and throwing pages and pages of your blood, sweat and tears into a black hole. But it doesn’t have to feel this way.
The literary journal and magazine, Black Rock & Sage, is here at ISU to keep that from happening. Anelise Farris, the editor-in-chief of Black Rock & Sage, is striving to help undergraduates and graduate students receive the chance to have their work published in their magazine.
“We believe that a lot of amazing creative work is occurring on campus, and too much of it falls under the radar,” said Farris. “So, our goal is to create an interdisciplinary arts journal that shows how talented the students at ISU are.”
In the past, the magazine has accepted submissions from faculty and outside writers. Now, the literary journal exclusively accepts submissions from ISU students only, in an effort to encourage young writers and artists to submit their work and begin to experience the process of being published before graduation.
Over the many years that the magazine has been in circulation, the art and literary pieces that have been submitted to the magazine have been very well received. “The cover art of Issue 16 (2017) is definitely a stand out piece for me,” said Farris. “The artwork ‘Moment of Depression’ by Stephen Alfegha is so beautiful and haunting, and I connected to it in a way that I didn’t expect.”
Although the magazine has been around since the 1970s, it hasn’t always been known by its current name, which, according to Farris, references things that are regional to Pocatello and the surrounding areas. In the ‘70s, the journal was known as “The Last Stop Before the Desert,” then, in the ‘90s it was known as “Ethos,” and in 2002 the name was officially changed to Black Rock & Sage, or in short, BR&S.
“While a lot about it has changed over the years, it has always been housed on campus,” said Farris.
Black Rock & Sage is also known for being a quick and easy way to bring information about what’s happening over here on the Pocatello campus to commuter students and the local Pocatello community.
Published annually through the Department of English and Philosophy with help from the Art and Music departments, it is important to note that you do not have to be majoring in Arts & Letters in order to submit a piece of your work.
“We want to cultivate an interdisciplinary arts conversation on campus,” said Farris.
What really sets this magazine apart from others is its diversity in content.
Each semester, the staff at BR&S pitches to different departments around campus to ensure that there is more to the magazine than poetry and prose.
“We would love to receive some unexpected pieces, like those from the medical field,” said Farris.
Luckily, submitting your work to the magazine is free and simple. As long as you are registered for at least 1 credit at ISU, you are qualified to submit your work and to have the opportunity to be published. The guidelines for submission can be found on the website blackrockandsage.org. The deadline to submit for the upcoming issue is February 14.
“Even if you don’t submit, please attend our regular events on campus and be sure to attend our launch party in May,” says Farris. “Support student arts on campus!”
