Here on this campus there is this little publication that exhibits the work of its students, inspiring creativity and enlightening the campus population. No, I’m not talking about “The Skyline View”, although I really couldn’t blame you if you thought this was going to be another shameless piece of self- promotion for our already very heavily self-advertised newspaper. In this case I am actually talking about one of journalism’s cousins, more commonly referred to as fiction. And our campus literary magazine the “Talisman” offers that which our newspaper doesn’t.

Featuring stories, poems, drawings and photographs, the “Talisman” has existed on this campus as long as there has been a school here, and is about to publish it’s 36th edition. According to Katherine Harer, the “Talisman” faculty adviser, it costs about $3,000 to publish this magazine. A third of this cost is covered by The Language Arts Department and the remaining cost is covered by the Associated Students of Skyline College. A lot of money and energy goes into this little publication.

Each year the publication receives approximately 200 to 250 entries and about 40 of them become published. As school budgets become tighter literary magazines such as the “Talisman” are one of the first things cut. At Skyline College we are very lucky to continue to have this publication when colleges around may not. For example, College of San Mateo has had a couple of literary magazines but nothing consistent.

This year’s theme is to “Let it all out!” and the fliers around the school feature a picture of a vomiting dinosaur to emphasize the theme. There are also prizes offered for winners of short stories and poems judged by language arts faculty.

But prizes aside, I believe this is a truly wonderful publication and I encourage any student interested in writing fiction, drawing or taking pictures to participate in the creation of the magazine and I encourage everybody to engage themselves in the imaginations of their fellow students. While reading “The Skyline View” can be (or we at least hope) an enlightening experience, the “Talisman” has the ability to open hearts and minds and allow our creative spirits to soar.

The deadline for submissions is Mon. Mar 13. Take materials to Harer’s office, PH 112.