Hoping to inspire the community’s creative spark and submissions for its literary journal, Western Wyoming Community College plans to host workshops throughout the semester.
“Boars Tusk” is a yearly literary journal publishing poetry, fiction, nonfiction, artwork, and photography. Although the journal was started many years ago, it fell by the wayside according to Michelle Zuppa, the publication’s faculty advisor. The journal was rejuvenated by Western faculty members Christopher Propst and Rick Kempa in 2017.
“We’re excited to have it running again,” Zuppa said.
The journal accepts submissions from both students at Western and the county’s residents. Every year there is also a contest with prizes for winners in each category.
“We have a lot of active community members,” Zuppa said, noting that the journal has had good involvement with submissions from both inside and outside of the college.
This year, Zuppa wanted to go a step further in giving everyone a chance to work on their crafts, hoping to also inspire even more submissions to the journal. To do this, “Boars Tusk” will host several creative workshops.
Zuppa hopes the workshops will inspire people’s creativity and give them the chance to either start new projects or find inspiration for ongoing projects. Workshops can spur ideas, teach new skills and provide practice, according to Zuppa. And she believes a one-hour workshop is easier and more accessible than taking a full class.
Zuppa also hopes the workshops will lead to even more pieces that will be submitted to “Boars Tusk.”
The workshops this semester will be led by Western faculty and adjunct faculty members. The first workshop took place Sept. 17, when Western photography instructor Hank Ketelsen led a session focusing on taking good photos, including how to get better photos with smartphone cameras.
For the next workshop, Jacob Muldowney will teach 2D and 3D art Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. in room 1430, the south computer lab. The last two workshops will focus on writing. Barbara Smith will lead a poetry workshop on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. in room 1408. The final workshop will focus on flash fiction and be led by author Alison Balaskovits on Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. The fiction workshop will take place as a webinar which can be viewed in room 1408 or through Zoom. All workshops are free and open to the public and there is no need to register.
Zuppa hopes this semester’s workshops will have a good turnout, and that “Boars Tusk” can continue to hold workshops and expand on them in the future. She believes the workshops and “Boars Tusk” are important outlets to spread art and creativity in our community, which can improve everyone’s lives.
“I feel that art is important for everybody, whether you’re reading or viewing it, or whether you yourself want to find your voice and create it,” Zuppa said. “I think it helps us understand other people, it helps us make sense of our world, it helps us find beauty in our world.”
The submission deadline for the next edition of “Boars Tusk” is Jan. 31, 2022. Submissions can be made on Western’s website page at westernwyoming.edu/boarstusk.
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