Ivory Tower

• It's HERE!

  The 2008 issue of Ivory Tower is GO!

  Look for it in the entrance to Lind hall, plus other strategic locations around your fine university.

  April 30th, 2008

• Submissions for next year

  Attention next fall's undergraduates!!!

  You know that creative writing portfolio you're just polishing up for finals? Or the art piece that's aaaaaalmost done? Or scratchings you made in lecture the other day because you're trying really hard to ignore finals?

  Why not send them in NOW to be considered for next year's Ivory Tower? Early submissions for next year may be sent to ivory@umn.edu until May 18 (no hard copies, please)!

  Submission Guidelines:
  *Please only submit if you will still be an undergraduate student at the U of M in Fall '08.
  *Blind submissions: Attach a separate document with your name, address, phone number, university email, genre or medium, and title of your work.
  *Poets may submit up to five poems.
  *Writers and artists of other genres, up to three submissions.
  *Format written submissions in a Word file. Please number all pages, use a 12 point font, and double space prose pieces. We prefer art submitted in a tif.
  *Only unpublished works accepted. Submissions not returned.

  April 30th, 2008

• 12 To-Do's

  With two weeks to go until I’m a graduate holding two much anticipated Bachelor degrees—one in journalism and one in English—I decided to compile my own list of “12 To-Do’s for the Aspiring Writer/Journalist at the U” that I wish someone would have given me four years ago….

  1) Get an internship.
  Intern at a magazine, a publishing company, a newsletter…basically anywhere where editing and/or writing are used daily…and where you can get involved—sometimes the smaller and somewhat lesser known publications, the more hands-on experience and responsibilities available for interns.

  2) Keep an eye out for internship/job openings…in the Twin Cities or everywhere (perhaps a summer internship in a different city?)
  Here are my three top local (one) and national (two and three) job search Web sites:
  1) http://www.stthomas.edu/careerdevelopment/joblistings
  2) www.mediabistro.com
  3) www.journalismjobs.com

  3) Subscribe to The New Yorker
  $40 a year. Top quality journalism. (I have yet to have a professor who hasn’t referenced it.)
  Another valuable publication to subscribe to or pick up occasionally is Writer’s Digest

  4) Volunteer at the Loft Literary Center
  A great way to get in touch with the literary community…and to attend Open Readings for free…
  Visit: www.loft.org

  5) Always buy English books new and never sell them back.
  It makes your bookshelf appear very impressive and typically prompts guests to comment, “Wow, you must be smart.”

  6) Take as many creative writing classes as possible…
  My favorites:
  Intro/Intermediate Fiction
  Literary Aspects of Journalism (open to Journalism and English students)
  Screenwriting I & Screenwriting II

  7) Blog.
  I’ve heard professors and employers say that having a blog—and including it on a resumé—can be extremely beneficial since it allows employers to see unpublished/untouched work. It’s also a chance for you to set yourself apart/sell yourself—apart from a piece of paper.

  8) Hold onto business cards…
  …and take guest speakers up on the offer, “E-mail me with any questions you have…” If they don’t give out their contact info, be that person that stays after class—say you’re interested in what he/she does and would love to e-mail some questions.

  9) Work on the Ivory Tower!
  A wonderful experience to learn all aspects of editing, producing and distributing a small literary magazine ;)

  10) Take a field-based practicum course offered through the School of Journalism
  Ones available to apply for:
  Star Tribune Practicum
  Magazine Practicum

  11) Freelance:
  Buy a copy of Writer’s Market at the bookstore and choose some locations to pitch story ideas to…you never know! (First however—particularly if you haven’t taken, for instance, a magazine writing class—read about how to pitch…google search it)
  One helpful resource is:
  http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/special_initiatives/toolkit_resources/tipsheets/pitching_story.cfm

  12)
  Buy a Moleskin journal at the start of each semester…
  …and make it a goal to fill it up by the end of the semester—with your own writing! (Be it a novel, short story, poem, etc)

  --Jessica Siefer
  Non-Fiction Editor

  May 5th, 2008

• Why Reading the Ivory Tower is Way Better than Reality

  1. In real life you have to pay your bills, the Ivory Tower is free.
  2. No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service, We don’t think so. The Ivory Tower doesn’t care if you’re naked.
  3. In reality, victories are hard to come by. The Ivory Tower is only about 100 pages (and it’s a lot of art). You get a huge sense of accomplishment in a few short hours.
  4. The Ivory Tower doesn’t care about the Dean’s List. Go ahead, fail something.

  N.B. I plagiarized this idea from my nine-year-old nephew who recently proved to me why video games are way better than reality with logical arguments like “you don’t fall down in video games and so you can’t get hurt,” and one-liners like “houses are temperature-controlled.”

  --Nick Walsh
  Art Editor

  April 30th, 2008