In the middle of June, NVD’s Literary Magazine, contributed and put together by students, will be open to read. Names RUNES the magazine consisting of artwork, photography, stories, and original poetry. It showcases the overlooked creative abilities of Northern Valley students. 

In the Literary Magazine club, members get the opportunity to discuss techniques for creative writing. Students get prompts to inspire new creative efforts and can share their pieces with the class. Towards the end of the year, pieces are then read aloud and discussed by the group to be put in the club’s magazine. The club is run by senior Stratos Chandras and supervised by teacher Martin Springer who both encourage NVD students to take new approaches to their writing and continue to make it the best that it can be. 

“Writing allows me to freely express my ideas and also share my techniques with friends,” said junior Mathew Manuel whose poetry will be featured in the magazine. Matthew enjoys writing poetry, “… because of the challenge of fitting in many ideas or a large idea into a small piece of writing.”

The magazine currently includes over fifteen creative writing works and is looking for even more submissions, including any artwork and photography. 

The club’s student officer Stratos Chandras called the pieces that are already in the magazine, “incredibly diverse,” stating that, “from reflective poetry to commentaries on social constructs to character-focussed prose works, it’s turning out to be a really great year for us in terms of submissions.”

Northern Valley Demerest’s literary magazine has been collaborated by students for years, however, most students aren’t aware of its existence.

A junior and member of the club Anastasiia Ivaniuk expressed about the magazine, “…no one really reads it…,” worried that her work and others won’t actually be read. 

So many students don’t know about RUNES, making the effort to spread more awareness about the magazine so important. All the hard work students put into these pieces reflects in the writing and makes the magazine worthwhile to see. 

For Ivaniuk writing her poetry also makes her feel both, “…important and at peace.”

Currently, there is a diverse array of works that the club has analyzed and peer-reviewed. From short stories to Shakespearean-like poems, and vulnerable writing, there will be a multitude of original works in the collection. 

“I like to discover students who are trying to represent their real experience in writing. There’s something real and clever about it which gives me pleasure to read,” Springer said about the student work he’s read. “I also feel like I can make a connection to a writer based on things that may not be easily communicated any other way.”

According to Springer, there is a variety of, “genres and moods,” in the magazine which include, “lyrical, expository, sarcastic, and of course, heart-broken.” 

The magazine will only be available on the Media Center Canvas page during the middle of June. For literature lovers, this collection should be perfect: dramatic and exciting. 

According to Chandras, reading the magazine means experiencing, “…a ton of very creative prose and poetry from a very diverse pool of people.” To him, “Seeing the different approaches everyone takes to creative writing in general is very interesting to see.”

Next year’s club leaders are Anastasia Ivaniuk, Justin Song, and Ashley Morrison. To support Northern Valley Demarest and creative student efforts, don’t forget to read the literary magazine!