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Orpheus Art & Literary Magazine

The Orpheus Art & Literary Magazine is the oldest student-run organization on campus at the University of Dayton. Since its beginning in the 1902-03 school year, then called The Exponent, UD’s art and literary magazine has supported and provided a platform for student-made poetry, fiction and art. With over 200 issues released since its inception, Orpheus has allowed countless students their first chance of being published and their first chance to show their creativity to a large audience. Our magazine allows for students to see their work printed in a high-quality publication, and gives them a taste of the world of literary and artistic journals. However, Orpheus is not just a magazine. Orpheus is a supportive community that provides a creative outlet for hundreds of students on campus, with writing workshops, magazine launch parties and art displays. If you’re curious, we encourage you to check out some spotlights on past editors of the magazine below, as well as browse through our archive on eCommons.

Current Orpheus staff

Head literary editor: Melina Blank

Head design editor: Sebastian De Leon Osorio

Outreach officer/archivist: Bryce Russell

Assistant literary editor: Rachel Smith

Assistant design editor: Kasey Crawford

Activities director: Eleanor Cappelle

Faculty advisors: Katrina Kittle, Meredith Doench, Adam Williams

Email: orpheus.magazine@gmail.com

Previous Orpheus editors

The Orpheus Art & Literary Magazine has had a lot of editors since the late 1960s, keeping the magazine going and pushing for its importance on campus. Amariá Jones was the literary editor from the fall of 2017 to 2019, and is one of those people that kept Orpheus going forward.

“I think Orpheus is important because it gives students a literary and artistic outlet,”  Amariá said.

Amariá began working for Orpheus in 2017 because she felt inspired after being published in the magazine. The importance of publishing at an early stage like undergraduate studies is hugely impactful.

“I know it’s possible (to publish work) because of what I did at UD,” Amariá said, and this is a shared sentiment about the importance of Orpheus. “It gives the UD campus a way for students to put their work, photography, art, and painting out there.”

Now a graduate student at NYU in their experimental humanities program with a focus in cultural anthropology and socio-lingusitics, Amariá spoke of the impact Orpheus had on her life. Becoming involved with the literary magazine and community at NYU has helped her continue her passion of writing.

“Especially when we get to seasons of our life where we don’t have as much time for hobbies,”  Amariá said, “literary magazines and places where you are able to dive into the artistic side of things is important. I’d want people to know that these types of outlets don’t last unless they are poured into, so if no one is applying to these positions or people don’t submit things that they think are important, they’ll cease to exist. Things like Orpheus are important.”


From Fall 2015 in her sophomore year until her graduation in Spring of 2018, Julie Baffoe was a member of the Orpheus team. Julie, who came into UD as a visual art major but switched to English and education at the end of her freshman year, fell in love with Orpheus as soon as she stepped foot on campus. After picking issues up in her freshman year, Julie became “totally fascinated by all of the writing and artwork in it,” and wanted to get involved.

“I just really wanted to get more involved in the magazine as an English major, with other English majors, artists, and other writers,” she said. “Not necessarily because I ever wanted to be a writer, but because I just loved reading other people's work.”

Her passion for the work of her friends and classmates at UD encouraged her to apply for the literary staff and eventually become head literary editor her senior year.

“I think people should know that there are students on campus who are extremely talented, and I think it’s very important to celebrate your community’s creativity and also your friends’ and classmates’ creativity.”

Fostering a creative and encouraging community on campus was one of Julie’s focusses during her time as editor. Creating “Lit Circles,” which were hosted once or twice a semester at Art Street, Julie created a space for people to come together on campus and discuss anything creative-related they wanted to, whether it was art, poetry, fiction, music or movies. Julie knows that Orpheus is more than just a magazine, and pushed the communal aspect to the forefront.

Nine years since her graduation from UD, she has kept the skills she learned from her time with the magazine with her. Now an attorney in Chicago, “those reading and writing skills, those teamwork skills (are valuable),” Julie says. “Being able to work with a team of people to judge someone's writings, to suggest edits to their writing, and to collaboratively decide what would be put in, I feel like (I still use) those skills today.”

Reflecting back on her college years, Julie says being in the Orpheus organization as well as just being able to have the magazine and share art with people was her favorite experience at UD.

“I think when you are in college you underestimate the effect you have on your peers, not as someone who can motivate your peers,” Julie said. “I really think that's what Orpheus does. You can be your classmates' first audience, their first fans, their first readers.”


Meghan McDevitt began her time with Orpheus as an editor-in-training her sophomore year, and became head literary editor her junior and senior years.

“I was an English major and was very interested in the editing and publishing field, because everyone is always like ‘what are you going to do with your English major,’ so I was just trying to think ahead and get some sort of experience,” said McDevitt on her introduction to the organization. “Working on a literary and arts magazine, that just has a lot of transferable skills and gets you some experience with editing and publications.”

As editor for Orpheus, Meghan sought to make Orpheus into more of a creative community, and not solely a publication.

“We tried to have open mic nights where people could come and read their work or show their art,” she said. “We had some film nights where we watched movies. It wasn’t just ‘oh, we put out this thing once a semester,’ we tried to (add) a community aspect.”

Meghan is one of the many student’s that Orpheus has had a lasting impact on.

“I was just reflecting on it this week, because I do work in the editing and publishing industry, (specifically) the academic/scholarly publishing field, but so many of the skills that I started with at Orpheus from documentation and process and creating structure,” she said. “That general (aspect) of getting submissions, evaluating submissions and publishing submissions, that’s transferable to most anywhere in publishing. My time with Orpheus was crucial stepping stones with skills I still use everyday.”

Meghan is now an independent contractor that works mainly with one client, managing peer review of medical research for a funding agency.

“I have worked in the scholarly publishing industry since I graduated,” she said. “Before I was managing, I worked on medical journals, like the New England Journal of Medicine or JAMA (the Journal of American Medical Association). There’s a million journals that need staff to run them. I just completed a term as the president of a professional organization that focuses on managing editors for scholarly journals, so I’m very passionate about the industry.”

To Meghan, her time with Orpheus set her up for success immediately after graduation.

“If you have the same kind of skills I gained from Orpheus like following a process, working with authors, and putting an issue together," sahe said, "those skills translate directly to managing a scientific journal even though I have no medical background to speak of.”

Fifteen years after her time with the magazine, Meghan still thinks it is important, not just from the editing experience side, but also from the angle of the students submitting work.

“(It’s important) because it is the oldest student organization and there is a lot of history with Erma Bombeck and everything," She said. "As an English major and just a reader and writer, I think Orpheus has a lot of value in spreading the creative process. It gives students the opportunity to get works published. I’ve been talking from the editing side, but the students that publish work, you know they are getting out of college with a publication or several under their belt, and that’s substantial in the job market situation. It’s an opportunity for students to share their work with other students and the community.

"I just think it’s really special and an awesome organization. I see posts on social media and I’m just so glad it’s still going on. It has a legacy, you just didn’t do something for a couple years while you were in school, but you passed the baton on to someone else who then keeps that going from whoever gave it to you.”


CONTACT

Department of English

Humanities
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Dayton, Ohio 45469 - 1520
937-229-3434
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