By Hunter Llenos, Reporter
Quoted in the letter from the editors of the 2017 edition of the student literature and art magazine StarBursts, Leo Burnett once said, “Curiosity about life in all its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.” That is what this student-led publication exhibits of and provides for the students of Lone Star College-Kingwood.
StarBursts started with humble beginnings in 2011, but because of no funding it was dropped, until English Professor Darlene Beaman who then became department chair decided she “did not want it to die”; thereby, reviving the publication in 2015 with the creation of a student editorial team within the StarBursts Creative Writing Club.
The cover of StarBursts 2017 edition. Photo by Gabrielle Moore. Click here or on the image to view the magazine online.
English Associate Professor Cindy Ross, the advisor of the StarBursts Creative Writing Club, says that a lot of the selected submissions made are “based on…the quality more so the writing.”
The student editorial team, which consists of StarBursts Creative Writing Club Editor-in-Chief Sydney Buck, Managing Editor Bay Berger, Co-Editor Amber Barfield, and Secretary Gabrielle Moore, works with Ross and co-adviser and English Professor Peter Feldman in meetings to review all submissions for the magazine. The team also works closely with Art Professor Mari Omori on the visual art selections to StarBursts.
“We have a wonderful student body here,” Ross said. “We haven’t faced [problems with censorship and inappropriateness of content] yet, even with the poetry–usually it’s really good quality, usually not politically charged; it’s nice expression. But we are looking for things like that when we choose.”
Regarding the future of the student organization, Ross envisions certain revisions to it that will, essentially, benefit both the students submitting their artworks and those working on the editorial team. She is looking to organize “editing events, and I am hoping that people would want to come to work on their own poems or their own short stories to have some time to get some feedback.”
The publication is currently located on the LSC-Kingwood website as well as available in hard copies. Although the magazine is meant for campus readers, the future of StarBursts relies on its ability to grow in ways that don’t limit the search-ability of certain publications, which English Professor Darlene Beaman hopes for StarBursts.
“Having it online I think is good, that way it’s more searchable, but I think it would be nice if the works inside the StarBursts were searchable,” Beaman said. “Right now if someone searched their name I don’t think it would show up so I think it would be very nice if it were searchable in that way.”
There is also means to get the word out more to students other than what has been used (i.e. fliers, Club Rush) to get more student involvement and accessibility.
The magazine–with the help of the visual art and creative writing faculty members–is centered around students showcase their published works of literature and art.
Second-year student Bay Berger reads a passage from her short story “The Before” during the StarBursts Reception in the Music Recital Hall, Apr. 4. Photo by Hunter Llenos.
On the evening of April 4, students, faculty, and their family and friends came together to celebrate the magazine and all the students published within it. Many of the published students got the chance to present their work on stage of the Music Recital Hall.
Stephen Garza, a student at LSC-Kingwood, published his work, “Almost Like Hope,” inspired by “the idea of someone trying to cope.”
The short story tells of a young widow learning to cope with the loss of her husband’s life. Within this life lesson, she tries finding ways of moving on until she comes upon a “chance encounter” that gives her that little hope she needs for the future, Garza said.
“I like to write about pain; it’s something that we all experience. We all experience things that are terrible, and through all that there’s still hope,” Garza said.
Cy’ria Walker, who published her artwork “Twin Trouble,” drew her inspiration from somewhere much her own. Walker said, “The objective of my piece was to find similarities between my sister and I, things we hate and things we love. So I decided to do the things we hate; washing dishes.”
“Twin Trouble” by first-year student Cy’ria Walker, published in Lone Star College-Kingwood’s StarBursts: 2017 edition.
An aspect that was refreshing was her take on what inspired her to center her work on things she hated. “I wanted to challenge myself, to create art out of something that wouldn’t normally inspire me. I started thinking about my art piece having a deeper meaning than just myself, so I combined the viewpoints of myself and my sister.”
Walker is currently working on two art pieces: “one is a conte piece focusing on the human form,” and the other is “a mixed medium to draw details of a car through the windows or mirrors.”
“StarBursts to me means a head start in my career, which ever I may choose. It is a chance to get my name out there quicker without having to jump through so many hoops,” Walker said. “StarBurst can give us the proper start we need to get our careers going.”
Magan Porter shared multiple photographic works in StarBursts. One of three of her published works can be found on the cover of the magazine titled “Alice in Wonderland.” The inspiration for this work came from “the idea that in this world of black and white she is looking for color and adventure,” Porter said. Porter finds that in wonderland, “this [is a] place of art, music, creativity, and color.”
“Alice in Wonderland” by first-year student Magan Porter featured in Lone Star College- Kingwood’s StarBurst Magazine: 2017 edition.
Regarding Porter’s other two works, “Reflection of The Soul” points to how what “we see in a mirror are different than what we see if someone showed us our soul,” and “Child’s Play” is similar in thought, but in the guise of innocence where children “color in a world of black and white.”
First-year student Magan Porter speaks on her piece “Child’s Play” in the Music Recital Hall during the StarBursts Reception on Apr. 4. Photo by Hunter Llenos.
For this magazine to show such appreciation to the students and their works is paramount to universities that strive to expand their students abilities in ways that also encourage them.
Jim Stubbs, Dean of Fire Science, Letters, Arts, and Kinesiology, and supporter of the StarBursts magazine, said that StarBursts provides him “the opportunity to really understand, level with our students” as well as “[give students] the chance to express themselves.”
Lone Star College-Kingwood students (left to right) Stephen Garza, Iris Varianti, Judith Kirkeeide, Kimberly Koltcz, Cy’ria Walker, Amber Barfield, Magan Porter, and Gabrielle Moore sign StarBursts magazines on Apr. 4 outside the Music Building. Photo by Hunter Llenos.
“I got the opportunity to put my work out there and that is an indescribable feeling that I can’t express in words, and as a student it gives us…[the opportunity] to share our passions and what we love, not only to share it with ourselves but all of Lone Star,” Porter said.
