by Sarah McLaughlin '23 on November 27, 2022
Editor-in-Chief
Campus
by Sarah McLaughlin ’23
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of PC’s clubs and organizations were impacted in terms of lowered membership and name recognition. The Alembic, a literary journal which publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, and literary interviews written by PC students and writers from all over the world, is managed and edited by students on campus and was similarly affected. I spoke with The Alembic’s editors-in-chief, Emma Snelgrove ’23 and Morgan Stoffel ’23, who hope to spread the word about The Alembic as an opportunity for PC students.
The Alembic typically publishes once a year, though during the pandemic, their work was postponed, and they have recently published one combined 2020-2022 issue. Their yearly issue is printed in the spring, and they host a launch party for faculty, students, and writers whose work they publish. For students involved in editing the journal, it counts as a one-credit course.
Stoffel, a marketing major and writing minor, and Snelgrove, a political science major and English minor, both oversee and advise the editing team. They joined The Alembic last year. “It’s been cool to work on the press side,” Stoffel says. Their role also involves advertising and marketing the journal. “The Alembic has given me a lot of foundational exposure and experience in this industry that I will carry with me for the rest of my career,” Snelgrove says. “It’s been great to see and review great literature, and I feel as if it has made me a better writer in the process.”
In the coming years, they hope to see more student involvement in The Alembic. “Truthfully, we weren’t aware of what The Alembic was until a professor brought it to our attention, so we are hoping to get the word out there.” They want to see more students interested in the editing side as well as submitting their creative writing. “Within The Alembic, we are hoping to create a community of editors on campus, who can come together regardless of their major/minor to create a compelling and engrossing journal.”
Students looking to get involved can join as a student editor. Any student can also submit their work to alembic@providence.edu or The Alembic’s mailbox, located in the English Department office in Ruane.