On Wednesday, Dec. 5, at 5:30 p.m., Cardinal Sins hosted its Publication Reception in the Roberta Allen Reading Room.
Cardinal Sins is a collection of art, poetry and short stories submitted from people all over the world. It first began as pieces from SVSU students but has opened to all authors willing to submit their work.
“The goal of Cardinal Sins is to publish quality literature and artwork,” said Cardinal Sins Editor-in-Chief Mackenzie Bethune. “The reception is an opportunity to showcase what we publish and just hang out.”
Cardinal Sins Advisor Kim Lacey, an associate professor of English, sees the large amount of submissions as proof of the journal’s growing reputation.
“There are quite a few submissions, and it is a very selective process,” she said. “I think it really shows that we are a small university but carry a lot of weight for readers.”
Submissions are posted on a platform called Submittable. They are then picked and put through a judging process. Final picks are published in the Cardinal Sins.
Bethune has been involved with Cardinal Sins since she was a freshman, and she over-saw the publication of their latest journal.
“Being editor-in-chief has been a lot of work, but it’s a rewarding process, especially at this time where we get to see all of our work over the semester in the finished project,” she said.
Bethune was impressed with all the entries this year, but the cover photo especially stood out to her. The photo, called “Silenced,” was submitted by Chelsea Bertagnoli.
“I knew from the minute I saw it in our submissions that I wanted it to be our cover,” she said. “Fortunately, the rest of the staff agreed.” She noted that the poetry was strong this year as well.
“We featured two poems from a woman about growing up on an orchard in North- ern Michigan,” she said. “Together, they tell a larger story about family history and growing up in a more rural setting.”
At the reception, students read their favorite pieces from the most recent Cardinal Sins issue. Aran Singh, a guest student and Cardinal Sins member, read the poem “The Accept- ed Thread” by Danny P. Barbare and the ash fiction piece “Elk Herd” by Stephen Benz.
“When the time comes for our publication party, I ask everyone on staff if they’d be interested in reading a piece and let them pick something that they feel a particular connection to,” Bethune said. “(Singh) usually picks pieces that border on the absurd or have odd characters. ‘The Accepted Thread’ is a three-line piece about a janitor giving a brief philosophy lesson.”
Now that their latest journal has been published, Bethune and her team will begin com- piling submissions and recruiting for the next journal.
“Students don’t realize how easy it is to get involved,” she added. “I’d like to see more people coming from STEM or business be- cause it’s not just geared toward writing majors.”
