Students had the opportunity to showcase their various written pieces for the Auburn community at SNAPS, the Auburn Circle’s magazine release event.
The Auburn Circle is the literary and art magazine for Auburn University. Various submissions are chosen each semester — from poetry and prose to visual arts and graphic design — and there is a new publication twice a year.
This year, The Circle’s editor-in-chief is Kristen Bledsoe, senior in English literature and journalism. She said working for The Circle has been very rewarding, especially holding these public events.
“The arts in Auburn aren’t always super prominent, and it can be hard to find people who like the same things as you,” Bledsoe said. “It’s a good opportunity to have a tangible, physical space for people to be and connect and hear pieces read by their peers.”
The actual event was held at the Red Barn as golden hour turned to night. Several students shared work that was published in the spring 2019 edition of The Circle. Lily Sampson, senior in creative writing, read a poem titled “The Poet in Transition, as a Pile of Sand."
She expressed what being included in this publication meant to her.
“It’s been a very welcoming and open place to talk about my experience," Sampson said. "I haven’t really had that before. To be able to express the things that have been going on while I’ve been at Auburn artistically — it’s wonderful.”
Another student, Mary Alice Hughes, junior in public relations, read a portion of a prose piece that was published in The Circle. As head of public relations for the magazine, she said she has been greatly impacted by it and expressed why it is important to have an avenue for the arts on Auburn’s campus.
“I think we are on a campus that focuses more on the STEM side of things," Hughes said. "Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it can feel sometimes like there’s no real outlet for creativity. The Circle is important to me because I feel like we provide that for people."
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