This February 16, the submission period for 7 Mondays closes, yet work is only just beginning for this literature and art publication. For the first time since 2020, this annual journal is returning to share the creativity of the Mt. A community. What content does 7 Mondays print? “Anything that you could print onto a page that is roughly thirteen by twenty three centimeters,” shares Freddy Smith, Chief Editor. 7 Mondays accepts poetry, creative writing, visual art, photography, and more.
Publishing student works for just shy of 30 years, 7 Mondays fell victim to pandemic abandonment in 2020. Smith, a fourth-year English major and computer science minor, is at the forefront of the student-led team bringing the project back to life. “The general goal for this, beyond just getting it existing again, is to make something that is going to be resistant to change; make something that is going to last; make something with architecture.”
With past involvement in school and online literature publishing, Smith shares, “it felt like that [community] was missing when I came here, and then I realized that was because it actually used to exist but then it did not anymore.”
Motivation to restart 7 Mondays developed in conversation between Smith and Dr. Geordie Miller, Professor in English at Mt. A—and current faculty advisor for the project. “I think it is important to have an outlet for students’ writing, and not just that, but the experiential learning that goes on with editing and putting something like this together,” Dr. Miller shares. “It just means a lot to have your work be in the world and to see them in print.”
Recently, students such as Shaki Vadakkath have also joined the publication’s production team. Officially an editor, Vadakkath, a fourth-year English and religious studies student began as a review board member but now contributes to design and editing as well. “The past four years, definitely because of COVID, there has been a lack of community, especially on a creative level, that I was somewhat yearning for,” she shares. “Creativity is one of the innate human drives. […] Talking to people I have gotten a sense of how much creative talent and interest there is amongst the student body, which is not surprising, but it is something that I feel should be showcased more.”
Following February 16, students can no longer submit creative content— yet there are still many ways to get involved. “The bulk of what happens has yet to happen,” Smith adds. In the next few months, review board members will complete a blind assessment of submitted pieces (stripped of identifications to ensure fair judgment) and determine what is accepted for publication. Anyone can be a review member, in fact— Smith encourages it: “That position is open to anybody. You do not have to have any qualifications, you just have to be a student at Mt. A. It is super low commitment. And if you feel like you have special interest in these kinds of publications, or creative writing, or art publishing at all, then consider applying for an editor or designer position.”
He relates the work of rebuilding 7 Mondays to concepts in computer science: “What I am learning about now, in computer science, is about data structure and building software architecture that is resilient to change. You want to be able to add things to it or update it without destroying the whole thing and like rebuilding it again.”
Copies of the journal will be distributed around campus in spring. To learn more about 7 Mondays and get involved, follow @7mondaysmta on Instagram.
