January 4, 2017 - 3:45pm
For a quarter of a century, Portal magazine has celebrated the short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, art, photography, scripts and interviews produced by Vancouver Island University students. To celebrate this momentous milestone, the fourth-year creative writing class charged with producing it each year added silver to the print version of the magazine, giving the glossy publication an extra shimmer; uploaded digital versions from the past 25 years; and threw a launch party at the Dorchester Hotel in April. The party featured a talk by renowned editor/author Douglas Gibson (who has worked with high-profile authors such as Alice Munro and Michael Ondaatje), contributor readings, a slideshow and music.
First published in 1991 as a black-and-white, 64-page pamphlet, Portal is now a 96-page, full-colour literary magazine that is available in print and online. It is student-funded and published nationally.
“I would say it’s a calling card for the University, and a fairly polished one at that – it does justice to the work of students and everyone who works on it,” says Joy Gugeler, Professor of Creative Writing and Journalism.
The 2016 edition features interviews with award-winning poet George Elliott Clarke and Douglas Gibson; graduate testimonials; a feature on how the BC magazine industry has changed over the past quarter century; book reviews and 25 works of fiction, poetry and non-fiction to engage, excite and inspire you. Visit portalmagazine.ca to view the issue.
*This article originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2016 issue of VIU Magazine. Check out more stories from the latest issue of VIU Magazine here.
Tags: VIU Magazine
