Monthly News: November Edition

Élan’s 39th Print Edition Launch Party

Élan has published a printed version of our magazine annually for the past 40 years. This year, we hosted the exciting launch of our 39th Print Edition! The event was held on September 26th from 7 P.M. to 9 P.M. at the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA) in Jacksonville, Florida.

Staff came dressed in their classiest outfits to enjoy the celebration of all their hard work. Various staff members and contributors presented their work to the Jacksonville community. The community showed up, with around 70 guests there to listen to spoken word performances, see the artwork, interact with the incredible youth who run Élan, and, of course, take part in the free food and beverages. We are unbelievably excited to announce that, at the party, we sold out every copy we brought!

We are so thankful to MOCA for hosting our launch party and supporting our journey as a youth-led literary magazine. We thank all the staff members and faculty who helped set everything up and organize the event. We especially thank everyone who showed up on behalf of Élan and purchased a copy. Getting to see so many people support our craft is what makes it all worth it.

Lavilla School of the Arts Visit

On November 5th, Élan staff members took a trip to LaVilla School of the Arts. While there, we led a presentation on what we do at Douglas Anderson and, more specifically, in the Creative Writing Department.

Our goal was to get kids excited about creative writing and teach them about all the things they can do at DA that they wouldn’t be able to do at any other school. We mentioned events like Coffee House and Extravaganza, as well as clubs such as Black Art, Literary Arts Honor Society, and Spoken Word. We told them about specific creative writing classes and the various open mics we have around town. After the students asked their questions,we led them in blackout poetry and zine-making activities. Scott Parmelee, our Senior Layout and Design Editor, then led a spoken word activity that focused on writing and speaking towards different audiences.

Overall, we saw so much talent in the creative writers at LaVilla and we can’t wait to see them take their skills to the next level at DA. We thank LaVilla School of the Arts for letting us come down there and talk with so many up-and-coming writers!

For more information about our events, please check out our Instagram pages:

@creativewritingda

@elanlitmag

@dacoffeehouse

Signed,

Jay Lechwar, Olivia Sheftall, Scott Parmelee