The first volume of “Constellate,” an anthology of the creative work of ODU students, has finally been given a physical release.
On Jan. 16, staff members and contributors of “Constellate” gathered in the Barry Art Museum for the official launch of the anthology’s first volume. Introduced by Ifrah Yousuf, the editor-in-chief of “Constellate,” several contributors read their work aloud to the gathered audience.
Originally launched digitally in October 2024, “Constellate” was founded by graduate students in ODU’s MFA Creative Writing program. It is run by MFA graduate students, who took submissions from undergraduate and graduate students alike, and the submissions were not restricted to English majors.
“You can be an engineering student, a nursing student, an English student, health sciences, exercise sciences […] we wanted anyone who has written creatively to feel free to submit their works to us,” said John McManus.
McManus, a professor of English at ODU, is the faculty advisor for “Constellate.” The idea for the literary journal originated in a graduate class he taught, where he assigned students to read essays and anthologies by multiple literary journal editors.
“It came to seem like practically every writer worth their salt had, at some point in their life, helped found a literary journal,” McManus said. “[…] If you have the energy and drive, […] and you have a vision, this is something you can do.”
McManus highlighted how important it is for writers to have these kinds of literary journals to submit to and work on so that publishing does not turn into a gatekept space.
“You can just start your own magazine […] you can invite people to be published, and it makes it more of a two-way street,” he said.
“We try to cater it for the students so that every student has a platform to have their work in publication before they go out in the world,” said Yousuf.
Yousuf detailed that even though “Constellate” was available digitally during the fall semester, the goal was always to print and sell physical copies. They had not been ready in October and delayed the full release to January.
When asked why the average ODU student should pick up a copy of “Constellate,” McManus said that the student editors chose beautiful and moving pieces to include in the anthology. McManus further suggested that reading these pieces from all kinds of students would inspire more students to try their hand at penning their own creative works.
“I think it will inspire students across ODU to realize that we all have stories to tell,” said McManus.
The “Constellate” staff is already preparing for the second edition of the yearly anthology. Submissions for fiction, nonfiction and poetry opened on Jan. 16 and will remain open until Feb. 16. As with the first anthology, submissions are open to any student enrolled at ODU.
