Students filed into the Philips Autograph Library at 7 p.m. on April 24 for Daedalus’ 40th anniversary reading. The publication was founded in 1972 by Dr. Theodora West.
Daedalus, West Chester University’s literary magazine, celebrated its 40th edition by hosting their annual reading. Students were able to recite their poetry and short stories as well as explain their writing process. Photographers were also celebrated for the work that they contributed to the magazine. The event, which was open to everyone, served light refreshments and included free copies of Daedalus; music was played by student Eric Rau to greet members with a calming atmosphere.
“We’ve been giving out copies of Daedalus all week,” Vice President of Daedalus, Laura Blyton, said. The executive board as well as editors and members of the magazine, stood around the Academic Quad giving out free copies of the publication.
President of Daedalus, Britta Fogerty, greeted the audience as the final members took their seats.
“I’ve been a part of this publication for the past three years, and I am definitely sure that this has been our best one yet,” Fogerty said. “I would like to give thanks to everyone who submitted and everyone who was included.” Fogerty was very pleased with the layout of the publication, thanking Michael Bagwell, who helped publish Daedalus this year.
Fogerty was extremely grateful for her executive staff and editing team, praising them all for their help and dedication for not only pulling the publication together but also the entire event together as well.
“They all worked so hard on this book. They read hundreds of pages, they edited them and they reviewed them. They reviewed many photographs and drawings. They ran bake sales in the freezing rain, and they generally just busted their butts for this book to happen,” Fogerty said. Fogerty then read the preface to the novel before bringing up the readers and photographers to discuss their pieces.
The first student to read was Patrick Brogan, who read an entertaining piece about roommates, which was a piece that the audience could relate to and enjoy.
“Like every great work of art, this [piece] is about a woman,” student, Ryan Dean, said about his poem “Dark Rose.” Dean talked about how he spent the last year writing about love.
Poetry wasn’t the only writing that was read. WCU student, Maurice Hunt did a spoken word piece titled “Layman’s Terms.” Photography was also a big aspect in the publication. WCU student, Sommer Ainsworth, came up to describe her photos and love for photography.
“I got into photography when I was little. I would always take my mom’s camera and take pictures of everything,” Ainsworth said. “When she got her first digital camera, I used to steal it from her and go outside and take pictures of the leaves on the trees or flowers.” Ainsworth describes herself as a nature person when taking photos. Ainsworth also loves taking photos of animals.
“My dogs are my favorite subject,” Ainsworth said.
Ainsworth has two photos in the publication; one being the front cover of Daedalus and the other is a picture of her dog.
Ainsworth was walking back to campus from Burger King when she noticed a heart-shaped indentation in the brick sidewalk and decided to take a photo of it and edited the color of the photo. Ainsworth posted the photo on Facebook and within a few minutes, she had many “likes.”
Alexa Van Vlient read her poem “Take Heart,” describing herself as a relationship poet.
Treasurer of Daedalus, Kiersten McMonagle, contributed photos as well. She featured her cat, which was lazily sitting next to the wall.
“It just looked really nice. My cat has black and white fur and with the yellow background of the wall and the sun shining through, it was a nice contrast of colors,” McMonagle said.
Secretary, Lindsey Brodie, submitted her short story, “Betty’s Violets.”
“I always thought old love was beautiful and tragic,” Brodie said about her story. Brodie wasn’t the only student to submit a short story. Patrick McFadden read an excerpt from his short story, “The Timepiece.”
“I like writing and a story is a story,” McFadden said. This was the first story he finished.
Writers gave a variety of performances of their stories, some reading their pieces slowly with a soft voice, allowing the audience to concentrate on the stories being told while others read their pieces with enthusiasm, creating a theatre piece out of their story.
Daedalus had over 20 writers come out to their event and read their writing. After the reading commenced, awards were handed out. Top winners won $50 and others who were recognized during the award ceremony walked away with a certificate.
For awards in poetry, Gianna Girone won honorable mention and Meagan Smith won for best poem with her piece, “Orpheus.” Awards for prose were handed out afterwards. Royee Zvi Atadgy won for honorable mention for the poem “I Saved Latin,” while Patrick McFadden won for his story “The Timepiece.” Sommer Ainsworth won honorable mention for her front cover artwork titled “Sidewalk Heart,” while Matt Colgreco won for his photo “Faith.”
The judges included faculty advisor for Daedalus, Dr. Kim Bridgford, Professor Peter Duvall, and Associate Professor of Art, Dr. Nancy Rumfield.
Daedalus publishes their annual book every spring semester. For students who are interested in getting involved with the publication, contact Daedalus at:
WCUDaedalus@gmail.com.
Angela Thomas is a fourth-year student majoring in English. She can be reached at AT683005@wcupa.edu.
Fri. Jul 26th, 2024
