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Over the past two years I had the opportunity to get to know and bond with the Élan staff. This closeness has helped us to work together and develop a cohesive magazine. However, I have always felt that there was an unseen divide between the staff and our readers. I think that it is important for our patrons to really know the individuals who work behind the scenes—the editors, public relations teams, and web designers who make the book a possibility. Therefore, below are interviews that highlight a several staff members, so that our readers can get to know the students who work to create Élan for them. Kiera Nelson, Fiction Editor Who is your favorite author and why? My favorite poet is Nikki Giovanni because I love her originality in the way she manipulates words to evoke emotions. For fiction I would have to say ZZ Packer because she knows how to integrate the reader into the story. What do you like to do outside of school and writing? [Laughs] That’s funny. Well, I like to binge watch TV shows like American Horror Story and Carrie Diaries. What lessons or skills have you gained from your experience on the Élan Staff? I have learned how to take responsibility for my actions and manage complex tasks without getting overwhelmed. I have also learned how to think as a group, a staff, rather than just as an individual. Mariah Abshire, Poetry Editor Who is your favorite author and why? Right now I’m reading Pink Elephant, so I’m really into Rachel McKibbens. What lessons or skills have you gained from your experience on the Élan Staff? Teamwork. Having to be a small part in a big production and having other people depend on me has really allowed me to develop a sense of responsibility. As a staff member I have to meet other people’s expectations, not just my own. If you were stranded on an island and could only have three items with you, what would they be? Well I would need to finish reading Pink Elephant, so I would bring that with me. I would also bring an unlimited supply of Tijuana Flats Chicken Tacos and a journal with a pen. Emily Cramer, Editor-in-Chief Who is your favorite author and why? Taylor Mali and William Carlos Williams. Their poetry is so simple but deep—it seems to be about small ideas but once you delve into them, they’re so complex. Both also have other jobs outside of writing, which gives me hope that it’s possible to always be a writer, no matter what field I go into. What lessons or skills have you gained from your experience on the Élan Staff? I’ve learned what it means to be a leader, how to make sure that all work is getting done, while understanding the needs of individuals and maintain our magazine’s mission and standards. Who are your favorite musical artists? Mumford and Sons, Jose Gonzales, Sufjan Stevens, The 1975, and Fleet Foxes. Emily Leitch, Layout and Design Editor What do you like to do outside of school and writing? Wow, that’s funny. Writing and school are literally the only things I do. I go on Tumblr… is that an answer? What lessons or skills have you gained from your experience on the Élan Staff? I have gained a sense of community through this staff. I feel like we work really well together and we all participate. I have learned how to organize and collaborate. Being a layout editor requires me to work with every member of the staff when it comes time to layout our online and print books. It is very important to learn how to cooperate with each other as a staff and I know this will help me in the future. If you were stranded on an island and could only have three items with you, what would they be? Jason Schwartzman. My collection of poetry books. My pet turtle Phillip. That's all I need. --Emily Jackson, Creative Non-Fiction Editor

Relationships aren't really something that I'm good at. I've never been the type of person that has had an easy time with making connections, whether they are romantic or platonic. I know the main reason behind this is me trying my best to protect myself from disappointment and heart-break, but I also have started to realize that walking this earth alone isn't the correct way to live. In the beginning of August, I decided that I would try something new, so I decided to make a connection with someone I knew I cared about and had the potential to love. it was a decision that terrified me but I had promised myself that I would try to change and put myself in uncomfortable situations. It turned out to be amazing, while it lasted. I knew going into something like this that it would eventually end because everything does end, but somehow I made peace with that and continued to fall for him. It all ended less than a month ago. I originally thought this would completely wreck me and close me out to the world again but the loss ended up doing the opposite. At first it hurt to know that I wasn't enough for someone who I believed was everything but the entire situation taught me that it's okay to feel things, to let people in. I was now more open than ever. I wouldn't cower away from  another opportunity to love someone again. Now that Valentine's Day is starting to make an appearance, I don't feel like I'm going to miss out because I'm no longer in a relationship with him (platonic or romantic). I've made peace with the idea that I'm better off alone and I'm content that way. I've learned that happiness is found within me and not within someone else. -Anna Dominguez, Junior Poetry Editor

As writers, we can use our journey of growing older in unique ways. On the days we are feeling three years old, we can write stories about being on a playground, kicking our feet out from swings and sliding against sand. On the days we are feeling seventeen, we can write poems about preparing to leave our families, going to college, starting lives on our own. Whenever I feel like I am in a writing rut, I always try to trace my memories back as far as I can and write from the perspective of who I was. Trying this can help you vary the kinds of voices you use in your work, and also help broaden the topics you write about. If you need a little extra push, here are some poems about childhood/ adolescence that stand out to me: Flashcards by Rita Dove - http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2007/08/27 Three Songs at the End of Summer by Jane Kenyon - http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/26442 Believing in Iron by Yusef Komunyakaa - http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16182 Enjoy your journey! I hope you have as much fun as I did. –Raegen Carpenter, Poetry Editor

I have always been a regular of libraries, often running around in the children’s section when I was younger, and musing over poetry in nonfiction when I was of age. But it did not occur to me until I was older that libraries were an establishment that played a vital role in my own community.  Not only promoting literacy, but hosting community workshops which inspire and educate. In the children’s department, they put on an event, “Superheroes Read,” where kids dress up as superheroes and keep a list of the books they’ve read. Running around in capes, they come to associate reading with a positive memory. For teens, they host writing contests, where submitters write a story to a theme, and volunteer at the library to be considered eligible, thus fostering artistic creativity. There are also valuable services for adults. In the main library, they hold classes for speakers of other languages to learn English, which give adjusting immigrants the opportunity to learn to communicate and be articulate in our society. All of these things in combination show that the library is a valuable resource for the people, as well as a place to check out an interesting book, and sit down leisurely to crack it open. It hurts me to see cities and politicians not respect the roles libraries play. Indeed budgets to fund the libraries are tightening in an unmerciful fist. Where else would impoverished kids with homework, but no computer, go to type assignments? Where else would the homeless go to relax and read? Where else would free knowledge be made so readily available? Whenever I go to the library, I browse bookshelves with new-found interest and stop when I see a book about healthy cooking, cultural revolutions, or classics. I take it off the shelf, and I read. -Aracely Medina, Senior Poetry Editor

In the card department of any drug store there is a section called, “Mile Stone” that holds cards for 5 year olds, 13 year olds, 16 year olds, 21 year olds, and 50 year olds. It’s doubtful that you’ll find a card to give your seventeen year old, sort of mature but not really daughter or cousin. You might find one out of one hundred cards for a newly 16 year old, because someone at the Hallmark factory accidentally typed a seven instead of a six. That’s how it feels to be seventeen, not necessary and almost accidental. When I woke up this morning the first thing I thought of was the popular 1976 Abba hit, not the fact that I was a year older. I even avoided thinking about getting a year older when my dad sat me down during breakfast and told me that he was proud of the young lady I’d become and that I was so mature at seventeen. Seventeen, he emphasized the age like I was turning seventy and he was one of my kids describing how old I was. When you turn sixteen, there are more perks than not. You get to finally retrieve your license, unless you’re like me who waited too long to get her permit. You are officially a teen, a title many value and many more loathe. When I turned seventeen, I only thought about the cons. You’re one year older than a teen, but one year younger than a legal adult. You’re closer to being able to get a tattoo than you were at sixteen, but you still need your parent’s consent. I almost found myself wondering why we didn’t just skip age seventeen and let sixteen year olds just go straight to eighteen. Then I realized that fourteen year olds, eleven year olds, and forty three year olds probably feel the same way. Some of them might want to go backwards, while others want to fly into the future. These in between ages are a time to cringe about what you did when you were a year or two younger and dream about what you’re going to do when you’re older. In between ages are necessary, whether cards to cement them exist or not. -Chelsea Ashley, Junior Website Editor

February is a month set aside in remembrance. It is a month to remember historical leaders of the past, and to remember those we love. It is a month of showing passion about the things for which we care. Check out this month’s Vlog, where the Elan staff tells you just a few things that they love. What are some things that you love? Is it writing, like us? Or something else entirely?

For the past seven years of studying Creative Writing in school, I’ve never thought of myself as a poetry person. I’ve always connected more with fiction writers, like Rick Moody, George R.R. Martin, Khaled Hosseini, and Markus Zusak. I’ve always found more inspiration in their stories of suburban America, a fantasy world of thrones, children playing under a burning Afghan sun, and a young orphan learning to read in a basement in Germany. Through their stories, I’ve been able to find myself in the lines, discover facets of myself that I couldn’t uncover anywhere except through words. I’ve learned to weave my own stories, create characters that reeled me in and still haven’t let go, reach into my childhood and extract truths that I needed to express. I always thought that fiction held more truth than poetry. Then this year happened. I discovered that poetry was more central than I thought last year at the Dodge Poetry Festival, where poets like Nikki Finney, Taylor Mali, Patricia Smith, and Rachel McKibbens exploded my small world of understanding to smithereens. When I got home, I wrote pages and pages of poetry and told myself this is it, this is what being a poet is. Then I got stagnant. I forgot about intent and speaker and line breaks and poetry. I forgot everything, and when I returned to school I studied fiction, and got pulled back into the longer form of writing I’d always loved. Halfway through the year I switched to poetry, and the first lesson was essentially a slap in the face. We were to write on whether or not poetry was dead, and I didn’t know how to answer. I struggled with poetry through the first month or so, navigating this strange land of technique and style with the grace of a bull. I had no idea what I was doing. Then I wrote a poem exploring the myth of Medusa, and everything clicked. I connected to her pain, her ambition, her refusal to back down for what she wanted. From there on out, poetry and fiction equaled in truth. In Fiction, I can hide. I can spin stories that don’t clearly show myself in them. In Poetry, there is no shelter. Each poem is some extension of myself, some exploration of emotion and memory. Poetry and Fiction have become equal for me. Depending on what story I need to tell, I craft paragraphs or stanzas, but both show my identity in an equal light. Both are ways of telling my story, in whichever form that story needs to be told. --Emily Cramer, Editor-in-Chief

1. Catch up on any missed assignments. Those zeros may not seem like they are hurting your grade, but the trick to feeling good about yourself is commitment and not leaving any loose ends. 2. Plug into the last few lessons of the year. I know you’re probably already accepted into college and got the score you wanted on the SAT, but that doesn’t mean you can give up now. Finish strong. 3. Don’t take this as an opportunity to skip school. Pretty soon, you won’t be required to sit through school for eight hours a day and you can suffer through it for just a little while longer. 4. Engage in conversation with your teachers. They are interested in what you plan on doing after graduation. They have become “substitute parents,” and in just a few short weeks you won’t see them every day. Thank them. Thank them even if you weren’t their biggest fan, because it takes a certain type of person to spend their weekdays with teenagers. 5. Take pictures. In a few years, these last memories will fade and you won’t remember who you sat with at lunch or what your style was. That’s the magic of pictures. They ignite those gray areas in your brain and will spark hours of conversation about the “old days.” 6. Go to your senior prom. Ladies, strap on those high heels that you can barely walk in and fix your hair until you feel beautiful. Guys, get that suit or tux ready. Try to have as much fun as possible so you have a story to tell your kids one day. 7. Attend all meetings and rehearsals about graduation. There will be many things to remember in the coming weeks and you don’t want to miss out on spending time with your senior class. 8. Spend as much time with your friends possible. School has made it convenient to spend numerous hours of the day with them, but make time to meet up after school or on the weekends. With the end of school comes the parting of ways. The friends you have now can carry you through the rest of your life. Confide in them. Go places with them. Listen to them. Laugh with them. 9. The morning of graduation, wake up knowing that after that day your life will be changed forever. You won’t be told to go to school, you won’t have busy work assignments to catch up on or have to wake up at the crack of dawn everyday. Spend that day in relaxation doing whatever makes you happy. 10. The night of graduation, put on that cap and gown with pride and let your parent’s take pictures of you. In their eyes, you are still the baby they held 18 years ago. Smile when your name is called and they hand you your diploma and try not to think about the possibility of tripping. Be proud of what you accomplished. Soak in the atmosphere. That will be the last time you will ever be in the same place with these people again. 11. Don’t be afraid to cry. In these last days, you may be upset thinking about how you will never do any of these things again. Cry because you are sad, but also cry because you are happy. This is a mile stone in your life and is just the beginning of so many firsts. --Makenzie Fields, Submissions Editor.

In the beginning was the word. And that word was very heavy, full of life and anguish. The word was existence but also the end of being. The word carried nations and dropped kings with the same move. The word embodied imagination, making us gods over the realms that we produce. So, in the beginning of my creating process, of becoming the god to a world that may exist solely by my observation, I listen to music. It starts from a random rhythm. Either it pumps my pulse up, to meet its tempo, or it drags my heart beat down, to drown me in what it wants to convey. Either way, I go to music before placing finger to keyboard (because there’s no pen to paper nowadays). I really can’t get into my writing without this overlaying, outside shroud that the harmonies become. I find the right song or playlist that carries the emotion that I need for the piece- whether it’s a raging rock album or soft, liquid dubstep mix. Then I follow the strongest feeling back to its home inside of me (usually in the gut area) and try to pull it out onto the page. I imagine the scenario and everything that is happening in order to mold the experience for everyone to feel. Either that or I know what emotional experience I want to convey already and I use the music as an enhancer to help myself become caught up in that emotion enough to find some kind of words to describe it. I never go in anticipating a masterpiece or a message to the world. I just go in wanting to say what I’m thinking or feeling. This allows me, for the most part, to get out whatever it is. After that, well that’s not the beginning. That’s the rising action and it varies by how I feel. For the most part though, I’m satisfied with myself for bringing this thing into existence. -Rey Mullennix, Fiction Editor

As I lay curled up in an armchair reading Richard Blanco’s third book Looking for the Gulf Motel, I was struck by his diversity and approach. In my personal life, when my writing suddenly shifted towards interactions with my father and references to Mexican culture- I housed a fear that I would be pigeon holed. Surely no one wanted to read ten poems all dealing with my father, and italicized Spanish words. However, words like chiles and tortilla popped up again and again, along with whole lines of dialogue in Spanish. Somehow,- it wasn’t enough, just to talk about my father and discovering culture. There had to be something else, a layer or theme hiding from me I hadn’t explored yet. Blanco poetry showed me just that. Knowing he was a Cuban writer, I expected unbridled praise for his culture, imagery upon imagery of joyous family gatherings, and ethnic dishes. It wasn’t quite what I imagined. Reading the poem for which the book is named, I realized there was so many other layers to exploring culture. In the poem he touches on the intricacies of poverty, shame and trying to exist in a society that is not completely forgiving. Amidst this, he celebrates, he creates the true immigrant experience of being out casted, a pariah, and in that humility rebuilding pride, but accepting the weight of practicing culture in different country. Blanco also explores how his sexuality relates to his culture. He does this in a poem about his grandmother suspecting he was gay, and what the cultural implications of that were. Knowing how the LGBT community is viewed from the traditional Hispanic lens, I felt for him. More than that, Blanco taught me that even though culture can be beautiful, and rich, you can walk the line of being an in-between, you can criticize it, and be fond of it. Most recently, with this nugget of knowledge, I’ve been exploring the difficulties of having mixed heritage, being Irish American on my mother’s side and Mexican’s on my fathers. For a long time I suppressed this desire to voice this confusion. Now I see I can, I have permission to celebrate, and express my identity and its intricacies. -Aracely Medina, Senior Poetry Editor

I’m not the kind of girl who wonders why Katy Perry hasn’t been making new music. I’m not the kind of girl who cries herself to sleep with Lana Del Rey dripping in her ear like melting popsicles turned black and grey. I’m the type of girl who listens to the weird musicians, with the mellow voice and cocky attitude. The musicians who don’t care if they have fans or not. I’m the type of girl that listens to bands from the 90s and early ‘00s. Who listens to the musician that only posts music on sound cloud, and expects their fans to post concert videos on random YouTube pages. Ever since seventh grade, I’ve been obsessed with the album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis. Wonderwall is one of my favorite songs. I absorb the orchestral background like a washcloth absorbs sweat and grime. I bask in the off pitch voice of Liam Gallagher as he sings about some girl that he’s probably still in love with. His voice drifting in the prominence of the cellos, acoustic guitars, tambourines, and drums. Leaving me in a tranquil state that makes me smile, even when tears are fanned out on my cheek like a parachute. This is the album I listened to when I got a phone call saying that I was accepted into Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. The album I listened to when I had to stay up until 2:00 in the morning, because I had to finish a “group” project by myself, since no one finished the book we were assigned. The album I listened to before my dog was diagnosed with cancer. The album I listened to when she died. The album I listened to when I decided to tell a good friend of mine that I had a crush on him. The album I listened to when he told me he was dating a girl whose name wasn’t even her real name. The album I listened to after an old friend of mine walked by me, and neither one of us said hello. The album I listened to when I won an iPad for a poem I’m not proud of. The album I listened to when I wore eyeshadow for the first time. The album I listened to when my friend told me it looked bad. The album I listened to when my doctor told me I was done growing. The album I will listen to when I get accepted into one of the colleges I want to go to. The album I will listen to when I get my first car. The album I will listen to when I get married, then divorced, and decide that maybe I should wait a while before looking for another man. The album I will listen to when I retire and live in a beach house, even though I hate sand. As long as I listen to this album, I’m okay. -Christina Sumpter, Senior Creative Nonfiction Editor

We’re approaching the end of our first year as an online literary magazine. Did you submit? Were any of your pieces published? If so, congratulations! If you weren’t published, however, or if you received an email from one of our staff members asking for revisions and didn’t know how to go about that, then I might be able to help you out. Here’s a few revision techniques I’ve picked up from four years at Douglas Anderson: Poetry: Symbolism is your best friend. You never want to give your intent away, or in other words, be “too tell-y.” Instead, utilize devices such as extended metaphor and related imagery to communicate what you would like to say about your topic. Think of it this way: You wouldn’t tell your best friend that the pair of shoes or the shirt he/she picked out was in every way revolting, would you? Hopefully, you would show them another pair of shoes or shirt in an attempt to dissuade them from buying that crime against vision. Diction is your favorite aunt. Poetry is all about what specific words are used and where they are used. How you describe certain events, atmospheres, or even people says a lot about how you or your narrator feels about the topic of the poem and goes a long way in building an intent (what you want the reader to leave with after reading your poem [or story]). It’s similar to how aunts tell stories. Aunts always seem to have the best stories and usually they are the best because the way in which the aunt tells it is exciting or thrilling, depending on the type of story being told. Syntax is your parent. In my experience, not many writers are fond of utilizing structure and line breaks because it is so simple that in poetry it seems almost unnecessarily acknowledged. However, your line breaks can say a lot about the tone of your poem. For instance, choppy lines that break before the thought is finished (and usually at a grammatically incorrect spot) help to build tension. Don’t brush syntax and structure aside because, like a parent, it is often trying to guide you to the best possible outcome. Fiction: Characterization is key. Writing to communicate an intent is all about specifics. What did this character do? Why did he do it? How does he feel about that blue vase in the kitchen that was given to his mother by the character’s stepfather? Remember that you can characterize by what a character does, what a character says, what another character says about that character, and what the narrator says about that character. Perspective, perspective, perspective (and POV) A lot of times, a story that has met a road block can be freed with one question: Whose story is this? This is a huge huge concept for a writer to tackle. Ask yourself what you want the reader to know and how you want him/her to view your character. This is where you start playing with pairings. For example, a first person point of view from the perspective of one of the outlying characters (such as the narrator in The Great Gatsby) brings the reader in close to the action but still allows the writer to keep secrets from the reader until the time is right for a big reveal. Non-Fiction: It’s all about using techniques from poetry and fiction to make a true story more fun, creative, and relatable. Use poetic imagery to communicate how you feel and foreshadow possible events without having to spoon-feed the reader. Use fiction techniques such as dialogue and setting to bring the reader in close to the story. –Sarah Powell, Non-Fiction Editor