“The Lantern” Illuminates Students’ Work

“The Lantern,” AHS’ literary magazine, releases their newest edition today, May 16, featuring the work of students who shine in the literary and artistic spheres. 

“It’s a magazine designed to showcase the writing and art of Albemarle’s student body,” senior staffer Ben Mcafee said. 

The lit mag serves as the school’s “foremost forum for free speech,” according to senior editor-in-chief Mike Dolzer. “It’s a great way for students to express themselves. There are so many creative people around this school, and they all need a place to kind of filter into and share.” 

“Primordial,” meaning “from the origins,” is the title of this year’s issue. The title “really worked with our theme of the elements, which are fire, water, earth, and air,” Dolzer said. “We thought that that [theme] would be something kind of cool to do, and it’s easy enough because all the pieces incorporate one of those [elements], even if they don’t mean to.” 

Having a unifying concept throughout the magazine was a goal of the lit mag staff this year, according to advisor Charlotte Wood. Additionally, “we wanted to feature more writing and art than in the past and still place highly in scholastic competition,” she said. “This year’s [lit mag] is better than it’s ever been before; we achieved all our goals.” 

The lit mag began accepting submissions in November, and soon after faced the task of evaluating the entries and determining which ones deserved a spot in the publication. With so many submissions to assess, which ones stood out?

“A good submission is something that’s kind of relatable, but at the same time unique,” Dolzer said. “Take for example, everybody has a story of their first day of high school and how they felt, and that is something that’s universal. But if you can present it in a more unique way, whether it be with like figurative language, or just anything like that, than it’s interesting.”

“We don’t just want a hum-drum, oh seen-this-everywhere-else-before kind of thing,” Dolzer added. 

Senior Megan Farabaugh felt honored when the staff selected her watercolor and drawing piece, “Lazy Bones,” for the magazine. “I’m happy that others found my art to be inspiring and/or amusing,” she said. “I had a great time creating my piece!” 

After determining the content, next came spread design. “Spread making is when you pair writing with art then try to put them on the page and look visually appealing,” Mcaffee said.

 “People this year were more willing to take risks with InDesign [computer design software] than previous staffs,” Wood said. “They weren’t afraid.” 

In addition to giving new design strategies a try, the lit mag introduced new forms of media to the publication this year, including a CD to accompany to magazine itself. The CD includes 12 original songs performed by students and features a variety of grade levels and genres.

“It hits pretty much everything: folk music, rap, rock…” Dolzer said. “[It’s] another way for students to express themselves through lit mag.” Featured students include seniors Will Gooding, Brianna Valine, and Lily Garay. 

“Primordial” also features a non-fiction piece; Dolzer interviewed Gooding about being a musician for the magazine. “It’s nice to get more non-fiction in there,” Dolzer said. “[Non-fiction] kind of distinguishes us from other schools.” 

The staff this year was the largest in the history of the program. “There are a lot more differing opinions, which create tension at times, but provide for a wonderful learning experience for all involved,” Wood said. 

“It’s really rewarding to see all of the new staff members learn things,” Dolzer said. 

“There were so many new people, a lot of them got really into it and worked a lot, and they’re all great designers and editors and writers.”

The lit mag experience gives participating students the opportunity to gain “career skills,” according to Dolzer. 

“The program teaches you…how to use the computers for InDesign, how to make a portfolio, [and] how to manage large groups of people and work with others,” he said. 

“It’s very realistic to real-world careers. It helped me figure out what career path I wanted to be on.” 

In celebration of publication, the “Lantern” staff will be hosting a release party for all the featured authors and artists on May 16. “We invited all the people…to come and say [or] perform their pieces, and invited people from the CD to do some of their music,” Dolzer said. “And since we’re the element theme, the sax ensemble is going to open the show with an Earth, Wind and Fire compilation.” 

May 16 is the first day that the magazine is available for purchase. “I feel like it will be rewarding when I get the actual magazine in my hands, because then it will be like, all the work has come to something,” Dolzer said. “It’s the fruit of our labors.” Students can buy their copy of “Primordial” for $5 in room 228 and at the cafeteria May 27-30.

“The best part is the feeling of accomplishment when you watch the LitMag come together,” sophomore literature editor Katie Martin said. “Everyone on the staff takes part and puts in long hours, so it’s awesome to see our hard work pay off.”

Students should purchase the lit mag “to help support writers and artists at AHS,” freshman staffer Kieran Rundle said. “Everyone put so much effort and time into it…and once people start reading the lit mag, they won’t want to stop.”