By Zach Colten
Flipping through the pages of last year’s 52nd edition of The Onyx, Framingham State University’s premier literary magazine, I am struck by the variety of student work on display across the glossy pages.
Photography, poetry, painting, short stories. Political issues to body issues. Self-esteem to societal stress. Featuring Framingham State contributors from every class, The Onyx offers a unique platform for student writers looking for a place to publish.
Maddison Mayberry, this year’s Onyx club president, spoke about the value of the group on campus. “It’s a really great platform for people to give out their creativity in all forms,” she said. “It’s open for their interpretation, so it’s an excellent outlet for people. It’s really hard to showcase your art, and this a great platform to do it.”
The Onyx meets every other Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in May 214. In the spring, meetings will be happening on a weekly basis as submissions finalize and the layout and design process kicks into high gear.
Cordelia Stark, an FSU senior studying English with a concentration in creative writing, is this year’s Onyx vice president. Stark had submitted to previous editions of the magazine, but officially joined the Onyx this year, after English Professor Patricia Horvath recruited her and Mayberry in the wake of a membership loss following last year’s graduation.
“We’re essentially the newbies, running this all by ourselves,” Stark said. “My concentration is in creative writing, so as a senior here, I wanted to be more involved hands-on, and it’s something that I can work with outside of school. I’ve always wanted to be involved in a club.”
Mayberry and Stark also talked about their relationship with their faculty advisors, Horvath and English Professor Samuel Witt. As professors in creative writing and poetry, they are extremely involved, and serve as valuable resources to the magazine’s student leaders.
Mayberry said they get “a lot” of direction from their faculty advisors. “They were so great and actually gave me last year’s schedule, an ‘Onyx Survival Guide.’ It was super helpful to know what worked last year and what didn’t, and having an idea of what to tackle on certain days.”
Mayberry said the Onyx was currently looking for more collaborators in the Art Department. “We want to find people who are interested in photography to take pictures of the artwork, instead of me just taking pictures on my iPhone. Obviously, there’s no better way to capture the art,” she said.
Students looking to submit work to the Onyx can send pieces to onyx@framingham.edu until Feb. 14. You can also contact Witt or Horvath with any questions.