The University News

Issue date: 9/17/07 Section: Culture

UMKC's very own literary magazine, Number One, offers a wide range of creativity: a collection of short fiction, poetry, and photography.

Number One is one of the oldest student-run literary magazines on campus with a history going back to the 40s and 50s.

It's generally staffed by creative writing majors, but anyone can volunteer to help read manuscripts and make selections for the year's issues.

Some of the works published in Number One come from outside of the English department and even outside of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Number One strives to publish the best fiction and poetry.

"Number One's mission, as I see it, is to enhance the feeling of community at UMKC by publishing the best fiction and poetry being written by students. To make literary excellence its only criteria for acceptance into the magazine," said Michael Pritchett, professor and former faculty advisor to Number One.

An example of a story published is "The Fragrance" by Karen Igla. It's a poignant story of a family dealing with a loved one's illness known as aphasia.

The poetry within the magazine is provocative as well.

Blair Johnson wrote a poem titled "Peculiar." The poem says a lot even though it only has three lines.

The artwork within the magazine is also very unique.

Number One is available to any student who wants a copy. The budget comes from Student Life and not from any particular school or college.

One of the biggest challenges faced is getting all students who are not English and creative writing majors to submit their work. This is due to the majority of the budget being spent on printing the magazine, and little is left over for advertising.

Students who wish to submit their works of short fiction must submit a work at least 10 pages long.

Students must include a biography of themselves when they submit their work. It's an exciting year for the magazine. A change being made for this year's issue is distribution.

The magazine has been broken into two parts: one part of it is published in the fall semester and the second part is published in the spring semester.

Number One has a brand new faculty advisor, Dr. Christie Hodgen, an award-winning novelist and short story writer.

Hodgen is also new to the faculty in creative writing and is impressed by the magazine.

"I will be taking my lead from the students; they're remarkably well-organized and capable," Hodgen said. "It is truly their magazine and I'm impressed with the high quality of the publication."

nhall@unews.com

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