Student Editors Help Produce Gallatin School’s Two Annual Journals

By Asher Weiss

       The Gallatin School of Individualized Study recently published two of its most popular annual journals—The Gallatin Review and The Literacy Review—both of which relied on strong student editing and design.
       The 24th annual Gallatin Review, a journal of student essays, fiction, poetry, and visual art, sponsored by the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, was created under faculty supervision, but faculty advisor Sara Murphy notes that, “In my ideal universe, I am only a ghostly manager and problem-solver. The students function as the editors.”
       The review’s staff of 16 editors and designers accepted submissions until late November 2008, read the submissions over winter break, and finalized selections when they returned. At the end of the spring term, many hours of editing and designing later, The Gallatin Review is a glossy booklet with 69 pages of student submissions. Four students received awards for outstanding work that appears in this volume: Allyson Paty, Herbert Rubin Award for Poetry; Bianna Severson, Gallatin Writing Program Award for Prose; and Antonio Santini and Brian Wang, Gallatin Writing Program Prizes for Visual Art.
       The seventh annual volume of another Gallatin School-sponsored publication, The Literacy Review, is “a compilation of the best writing by adults in basic education, G.E.D., and ESOL programs throughout New York City,” according to June Foley, the project’s faculty supervisor. She and her 19-member editorial board, almost all of whom are Gallatin students, chose 68 pieces from 360 submissions by writers ranging from 17- to 76-years-old. Foley notes that the journal serves as a teaching tool for thousands of adults at adult literacy/ESOL sites throughout New York City.
       Central to the completion of both reviews were two Gallatin writing program assistants—graphic designer Brian Wang and editorial and visual consultant Molly Kleiman.