This piece was written by NCTE member and Past President Jocelyn A. Chadwick.
We asked members who had experience with literary magazines to share their thoughts on them. Here is a piece from NCTE Past President Jocelyn A. Chadwick.
Even as a child, my parents encouraged my writing—from diaries to cards and letters. My high school, San Jacinto High School in Houston, Texas, fomented further what my parents had encouraged. I wrote what would be my very first essay, “People Power,” for the school’s literary magazine. To my shock and joy, the essay won some local awards. That said, had my essay never won a single award, the opportunity to express myself, to trust and explore my thoughts, inner voice, and ideas with a variety of audiences literally changed my life path. To this day, I am beholden to the teacher and school that allowed so many of us to find and define our writing voices—voices that would eventually take many of us far.
Learn more about NCTE’s Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines (REALM) Award. The REALM program publicly recognizes excellent literary magazines produced by students with the support of their teachers. REALM is designed to encourage all schools to develop literary magazines that celebrate the art and craft of writing.
Jocelyn A. Chadwick is the Past President of the National Council of Teachers of English. You can read her full bio here: https://jocelynachadwick.blog/about.
It is the policy of NCTE in all publications, including the Literacy & NCTE blog, to provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, the staff, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified.