For the past 12 years, students at Woodland Community College have had the opportunity to share their creative side through poems, essays, short stories and artwork.
Published twice yearly, “Ink” magazine is an opportunity for students taking English classes as well as others across the three-county campus of Woodland, Lake and Colusa to express their creativity.
Operated under the direction of English instructor Kevin Ferns, “Ink” allows students to put into practice the elements of style learned in the classroom through written or visual formats.
For example, in its Fall 2023 issue, there are 22 examples of visual art and photography, and 23 pieces of “prose and poetry” with submissions running the entire literary genre.
One of the magazine’s editors, Flora Ibarra, wrote a poem titled “I Think,” which reveals the memories of companionship and concludes:
My friend where does the memory of me hide
Or have I been forgotten?
Do you still use that turn of phrase?
I love you still with this scar on my heart
And I wish you well with all that remains of it.
A life well lived without my hand in yours.
I think of you.
Fellow editor, Triston Miller, in a four-stanza piece titled “What Next” captures the uncertainly of each passing day, noting in his conclusion:
What fate awaits when life’s pawn is played,
and the curtain of existence must then fade?
The unanswered mystery lingers on,
What lies ahead when our time is gone?
Other poems are brief but telling, such as one by Alyssa Stewart, titled “My Poem” which is only four lines long:
So much depends on the choices we make,
In the paths we choose and the risks we take.
With each decision, our futures designed,
An intense painting our life’s grand design.
For both Ibarra, 26, and Miller, 25, “Ink” is not only a creative outlet, it’s also a serious business because both have the responsibility of gathering material, editing where necessary and then making sure it’s printed and published on time.
They have recently been joined by a third editor, Sebastian Campbell, 19, who is actually an English major in his second semester in the district. He has been involved with Ink for just under a month.
All three are residents of Lake County, where they attend classes in-person, and remotely in Woodland.
Ibarra is a sophomore studying communication science and is planning to transfer to Sacramento State in May, where she will continue studying the mechanics of speech therapy.
Miller is a sophomore studying early Childhood Education who plans to transfer in May. He got involved when taking an English class offered by Ferns.
Ink came into being in the Spring of 2012 and has been receiving student work ever since.
Ibarra and Miller said there is no specific theme for each magazine, and that sometimes it’s difficult to get students to write and make submissions, with Ibarra adding in the most recent semester they were actually having to “chase students down” for their work.
“We allow anything and everything as long as it’s appropriate, but generally it’s pretty wide open,” she said. “Even though this semester we had a couple of submissions that touched on themes of abuses.”
Miller added that because they are usually in college for about two years at most, each editor has his own way of doing things “and for us it’s been more or less looking at the students and seeing what stands out. “For the most part, the theme is the student body.”
“One thing we do allow in case some things get too personal is to allow pseudonyms. So, it has to be a student submission but doesn’t have to be under their real name,” Ibarra said.
Miller noted that one small move allows for more student creativity and openness.
“We feel it allows students to be more authentic in their feelings,” Miller continued. “We like that authenticity because once you put that information out there, you’re more likely to feel better about yourself and being able to voice those things.”
“I also think that because we’re a small community it can be a bit daunting to put those personal aspects of yourself out there,” Ibarra added. “That pseudonym allows students to be more free.”
As editors, the three have an obligation to review the stories and poems submitted and then make decisions on how “heavy” or “light” they will be on the writing. In general, however, they favor a light approach.
“It varies a bit, but we try very hard to not interfere with the writing,” Ibarra said.
“For me personally, particularly with poetry, I try not to manipulate it,” Miller said. “With short stories I go through looking for spelling errors, punctuation errors and then when I’m finished, I’ll send (the author) a revision before it’s published so it doesn’t stray from what the writer intended. I don’t want to publish anything in their words without making sure the writer is OK with those revisions.”
There are, however, some limits. While poems can go for many a line, short stories are usually between 500 and 600 words but it does vary depending on the number of submissions. Last quarter, for example, more “shorter” stories were submitted. If longer stories had been turned in then the number would have been limited.
Ibarra also said student writers generally turn in “more realistic” stories and not as much fantasy. The fantasy usually occurs in the poetry and artwork, which can, indeed, be impressionistic, realistic or devoid entirely of allegory offering a visual statement on or about life.
Poetry titles offer clues on the topics addressed such as “Unnoticed,” “It’s Not That Hard, Right?”, “Memories of Graduation,” “The Perfect Summer,” and “Counting Down the Years.”
Artwork also runs the gamut, varying from black-and-white pencil drawings to full-color illustrations.
In any respect, “Ink” affords students an opportunity to do something a little bit different through freely written and visual expression rather than traditional college essays written for credit, or artwork done around a common classroom theme.
