NJCU Publishes Bi-Annual Literary Journal

By Armando Sultan–

“…For me there was no ambulance ride. I remember a mask over my mouth. I remember whiteness. I remember white walls deeply contrasting black hallucinations. I remember beeping. A regular beeping, like a metronome…”

– Marc Polifrone, “Long-Distance Runner”

Literature can transport you to a fantasy world, stir up emotions or create attachments to characters that were crafted from thin air. At NJCU the bi-annual literary journal PATHS features student work, publishing everything from avant-garde poetry to old school western-themed stories.

Each piece in the latest volume of the journal seems to instantly create its own reality with its own set of rules. In a story by Ellen Horace called “Before and After,” she writes deeply moving passages about her lost lover. In Peter Orozco’s piece “A Diabetic,” he describes the challenges of growing up with diabetes.

Professor Ethan Bumas, advisor and editor of PATHS for the past 13 years works diligently with students and teachers to ensure a great collection of well-written poems, science fiction and memoir, which make this journal worth reading from any perspective.

Alongside him is student Alexa Christine, who will graduate this spring. Christine helps Prof. Bumas edit the stories with a great amount of attention to each student’s work.

“This is a global university filled with many students from all walks of life, and we want to use literature to say that our lives are important through the use of imagination … we want to publish them for everyone to read,” Prof. Bumas on PATHS said. While most of the work in the journal comes from students in Creative Writing classes, any student can submit their work.

Editor Christine says anyone can be published. “All it takes is an interest in a subject, the motivation to write about it, and the passion to keep working and working and working on it until it is near perfect.”

Nicole Caldarola, a student poet whose poem “Knots” recently won the prestigious Academy of American Poets University and College Prize said she never expected her work to be published. “It is quite an honor,” she said.

Another writer published in PATHS, Kellianne Lorenzo, author of a piece called “Mermaid,” said, “I never thought my work was ever up to par or even worth noticing. I am very honored to be published.”

Submitting your work can be as simple as dropping off a hard copy in the English Department in Karnoutsos Hall, Room 304 or sending an email to [email protected] or [email protected].

If you’re are interested in reading the new issue of PATHS or finding out more about the journal, attend the launch party on October 10 in Lemmeron Gallery (on the third floor of Hepburn Hall). You can also get a copy at the English Department, K-304, but call ahead first to make sure they have them in stock. The literary magazine is completely free of charge; all they ask is for your support and appreciation of the project.