Lehigh literary magazine to host food drive

For over a decade, The Amaranth — Lehigh’s literary magazine — has been publishing the works of exclusively undergraduate and graduate students.

Each year students submit pieces that are selected by editors to be included in the journal, as well as to receive prizes. The staff consists of a diverse range of undergraduates who have experience in topics ranging from web design to creative writing.

The types of pieces submitted to The Amaranth are widely diverse, ranging from short fiction to plays, poetry and novel excerpts.

“The magazine tries to be a space for talented Lehigh students that have interests in the arts to be able to display their work,” said Robert Fillman, associate editor of the magazine.

This year the magazine will be hosting a food drive Dec. 1, ^{which will} take place at the Humanities Center. The drive will allow undergraduates to feature their work through readings. It also will benefit Turning Point — an organization that helps victims of domestic violence — by requiring individuals to bring two canned goods to be admitted.

The drive will not only benefit a local charity, but it aims to increase awareness of the arts at Lehigh through a relaxed atmosphere. Fillman said the drive is a space for Lehigh students with an interest in the arts to have a space to publicly express their talents.

While in the past The Amaranth has solely been a magazine, it has recently begun expanding its horizons to include social media. It has revamped its Facebook and Twitter accounts and created an Instagram. By featuring student work on social media throughout the year, it hopes to bring awareness to the magazine in anticipation of its release in the spring semester.

Following the creation of its Instagram account, The Amaranth immediately garnered almost 200 followers.

The magazine is typically published in print annually in the spring. However, this year it will publish an online version of the magazine, which will attempt increase exposure to student works.

While an online publication will certainly increase prominence of the magazine, the goal of it is not to replace the physical journal.

The Amaranth has also recently increased the presence of visual arts in the magazine. Last semester’s issue included more pieces of photography than ever before.

“(The) purpose (of Amaranth) is to be a venue for the arts at Lehigh, to promote young artists and young writers to give them a space to display their work,” Fillman said.