Last year — my first here at The Citadel — I was unceremoniously handed the faculty advisorship to The Shako, the campus “literary” magazine. There are many reasons for this, not all of them kind. One nefarious reason in particular stands out at the moment, though: the Powers That Be didn’t want me to get any work done in February. Not last February, and not this February.
February, you see, is when all the final publication decisions get made by the staff and they turn over a stack of materials — fiction, poetry, photography, doodles, etc. — for me to shape into an actual magazine. I’d love it if the cadets themselves could do more of this layout, of course, but they simply can’t. The software is on my computer. And they don’t have time.
So I do it. Start to finish. It takes a few days, though then there’s the inevitable back and forth with the print shop to be sure the proofs look right and they understood all the instructions.
Well, it’s done now. If you’ve been wondering what to blame for my tardiness in posting material lately, you can add The Shako to the flu and my upcoming speech.
Thank goodness.
I’d love to read your Robert Jordan speech, if you’re willing to share!