SCR Update #8 – Meet the Staff: Laura Oliver, The Managing Editor

SCR Update #8 – Meet the Staff: Laura Oliver, The Managing Editor

Hello, readers of The Sand Canyon Review. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned the talent of last year’s poetry selection group. Today brings another gem to come from those students, this year’s Managing Editor, Laura Oliver. As valuable as she was in Poetry last year, she has proven to be an irreplaceable member of The Sand Canyon Review team as the Managing Editor this year.

In the coming weeks, we’ll get a chance to take a look at our Editorial Director of Poetry, Zara Brett, our two new co-directors, Marina Serna and Amanda Haskins, PR and Poetry respectively, and eventually, I will also post my own bio, but as for now, have a great week. I hope to see you back next week and maybe a submission or two.

If you’d like to learn more about The Sand Canyon Review, you can find us at these sites
http://www.facebook.com/thesandcanyonreview
http://www.myspace.com/thesandcanyonreview
http://thesandcanyonreview.blogspot.com/

You can also submit your art, photography, poetry and short stories by March 18th to
SCRsubmissions@gmail.com
- David Dysart, PR Director

My appreciation for the arts began when I was a little girl playing tag with my cousins in The Denver Museum of Art where my aunt worked. Our “Home Base” was an impressive Andy Warhol painting by the elevator. My cousins and I would dash as quietly and as quickly as we could through enormous rooms filled with works of art and visitors, avoiding being “it” as we moved up and down the various floors of the museum, giggling all the while. Even then, I couldn’t help but enjoy the gorgeous paintings and sculptures that towered above me as I avoided being tagged and getting in trouble from the grown-ups.

Now I’m a grown-up working on the art and literary magazine, The Sand Canyon Review of Crafton Hills College, which showcases poetry, short-stories, flash fiction, and, of course, art. And there are so many days that I have as much fun as when I was playing tag in the museum. I began working with the printed word as Editor-in-Chief of my high school newspaper and have always enjoyed working as a reporter. I’m incredibly curious, and I like talking to people!

As a teen, I was able to canoe seventy–five miles into Canada, help sail a Schooner in the Puget Sound, hiked miles in Colorado, spend three months volunteering in Scotland, and lived with a family in Mexico while my family volunteered at their village. After high school, I was accepted at the best college for journalism at the time, The University of Missouri, but because of finances I attended Cal State Fullerton majoring in Communications. (Later, I found out that Brad Pitt attended U of M at that same time…bummer!) I then fell in love, married, and had four amazing kids. Now, I love to jog long distances in the hills with my three dogs, work in my garden of rose bushes, and volunteer as a mentor to prisoners. The years I spent lovingly raising our family have provided me with incredible experiences to explore in my writing and I’ve had the privilege of being published. And now I’m back in school to work on what I love to do- write.

I began working on The Sand Canyon Review last year as a member of the poetry team. Our group had the privilege of reviewing incredible poetry submitted by writers from our campus and across the nation. Some of the lines of poetry remain etched in my memory. And the most enjoyable part of working on the team was when we would strongly disagree about the individual poems and that disagreement would be the catalyst of memorable conversations about the poems, writing, and life in general. Although we may have clashed in our opinions about some of the poems, we were able to work together to produce what I believe is a fabulous section of the magazine.

As I write this, I hope to reach artists and writers who are considering submitting to our magazine. I encourage and challenge you to tackle the difficult or amazing dimensions of life through your craft. My favorite line in the movie “The Long Kiss Goodnight” starring Geena Davis is, “Life is pain, get used to it!” There is an element of truth to the line. All of our lives have been touched in some degree by tragedy, difficulties and also joy. The amazing thing is that whatever wakes you up in the middle of the night, whatever is constantly at the back of your mind as you go through the routine of your day, is probably an issue that other people deal with as well. No one is immune to life’s adversities or delights. When we are honest and vulnerable in our work, we can deeply move our audience. Write or create an image about whatever is causing your heart to ache or burst with happiness. And then, submit your work to us!