Word Planet redefines "literary magazine"

The News-Letter interviews Word Planet, an online undergraduate literary magazine, about how they're creating a virtual literary universe. In an e-mail to The News-Letter, Jacob H. Levin, the Business and Advertising Director, gave insight into the group's work.

The News-Letter: When and why was the organization started?

Levin: I'd have to say it stopped being an idea and became a group around January of [2011]. It was proposed to students by graduate student Ryan Edel after his winter semester class on science fiction went so well. Together, Word Planet was born.

We had seen that many writing organizations on campus were either stagnant, not meeting their own goals or generally rude to submitters . . . What we wanted was to provide a quick, easy, efficient literary journal . . . that would support and foster the practice of creative writing in all areas of Hopkins.

Beyond just having an online, and therefore financially sustainable, literary magazine, we also wanted to have writing workshops, meets and other events that would give students of any major or creed the chance to enjoy and explore the field and be recognized in doing so.

The N-L: Were there difficulties getting Word Planet up and running?

Levin: Getting Word Planet running was a breeze . . . during the interview part of the process we were asked about a budget. They seemed shocked when we stated that we [could] operate with less than $100 dollars of annual support . . . All in all, it went brilliantly.

The N-L: Who are the main people involved?

Levin: There are no "main" people at Word Planet. This was critical. The problem with most writing organizations is that their internal structure is such that when a few people simultaneously graduate, everything breaks down. Word Planet was designed to never have that problem.

The N-L: What makes Word Planet different from other lit mags on campus?

Levin: Well, to begin with, everything. The reason that Word Planet even exists, with all due respect to other organizations, is that there was a major gap in clubs' ability to accomplish things. You would never get a response to find out if your piece had or had not been published. One organization even has no quality control, pushing out new creative pieces which had already been published in another magazine. Poor internal work, no advertising and deplorable writer-response times all fed into the Hopkins community, making it impossible for these organizations to get out of their rut.

The thing that makes us different is that we are not just a publication: we are a resource for students . . . We do not stop at merely taking things in, giving a thumbs up or thumbs down and then spitting it back out on high quality paper. Our editor-feedback system, in which students may optionally meet with our editors to improve their pieces prior to publication, ensures that no matter what you read on our website, it's great.

N-L: What kind of submissions do you accept? Is it only writing, or are other mediums welcome too?

Levin: Since our organization is online, writing at Hopkins can stop being a contest. Normally, an organization like ours would be restrained by a printing budget. Not us. We can print infinite content. Yes, we do have standards, but we don't hold good pieces back on the basis of "we can't afford this right now."

We take any literature. Poems, creative writing, stories, pieces of longer stories to be published later, even creative essays.

N-L: You held a writing workshop, "Captain Ahab and Giant Octopus: A Love Story," last year. Is this organization just a lit mag or something more?

Levin: [The workshop] had more than two-dozen non-staff attendees and everyone loved it. It was led by a graduate student of creative writing and led to several excellent submissions. More importantly, it gave students who wanted it access to creative writing's most important resource: real human feedback.

We want to be not only another literary magazine, but also a literary resource. We plan on hosting a lot more events in the future.

N-L: Is there anything you want Hopkins students to know about your lit mag?

Levin: If we want students to know anything, it's this: if you've ever scribbled about another world or even the one you live in, wanted to make something from your mind and put it on a page, or even taken something you've created and shown the world, you're okay. We're here now.