UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE | March 29, 2024

The Southern Quill offers variety, opportunity

The newest edition and past editions of the Southern Quill are filled with poetry, nonfiction and fiction short stories, and visual art. The Southern Quill has been a Dixie Tradition since 1951. Photo by Madison Anderson.

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Writers seeking to be published submit work to literary journals and art magazines ranging from ballad and haiku collections to science fiction anthologies, but in The Southern Quill, one will find assorted poems, stories, photography and art.

The journal was first published in 1951 and for the past 67 years has spread poetry, fiction, non-fiction and visual art created by Dixie State University students and writers throughout Utah. Recently, the publication has invited residents of Clark County, Nevada to submit works as well.

“I think expanding our parameters for submitters has really established it as a real journal,” said Cindy King, assistant professor of English. “It’s also given me an opportunity to spread our word and become more visible.”

Extending their reach to other counties is one way The Southern Quill improves its reputation, according to feedback King has received from readers. Another is aesthetic. Its visual quality made one student want to begin reading right away when she was shown a copy of the current edition of The Southern Quill.

“It’s just very appealing to the eye,” said Maddie Long, a sophomore physical therapy major from Hurricane. “You look through the different pages, and just seeing the artwork and everything is a huge part of what drew me in.”

Working on The Southern Quill is a responsibility King, the student editors and staff all share.

“Our priority is to respectfully handle the work of our writers and to promote and publicize their work,” King said.

Their dedication is evident as you read. Every short poem gets its own page; at times accompanied by a photo which compliments the prose. Every story is printed in an effort to make it easier to read. Photography, pictures of art and drawings add depth and contrast to an amalgamation of words and phrases, giving the reader more to appreciate than simple black and white letters.

While turning its pages, one gets a sense that the combination of commitment from the editors and staff, the passion of the writers and artists who submit their work and the devotion to bringing these works to the public is what attributes to the longevity of The Southern Quill.

For Izzy Rodriguez, a sophomore theatre major from Las Vegas, the reason is much simpler than that.

“Storytelling’s never going to go out of style,” said Rodriguez. “Because it’s very hard to become a successful published writer, and The Southern Quill gives people the opportunity to share their work.”

Whether you’re a poet, fiction or non-fiction writer, have a photograph, painting or drawing you want to exhibit, The Southern Quill has a place between its pages for any who wish to take the opportunity to share it.

Submissions to The Southern Quill will be open in OctoberKing said, and those submissions can be made online on the  submittable page of the journal’s website at thesouthernquill.com.