The Oz, a student-run art and literary magazine founded in 2024, is stepping into a new era under co-editors-in-chief Nisha Siedler (senior) and Milla Clarke (senior). The publication recently launched its upcoming theme, “Guts“, inviting creative submissions until Oct. 23.
“I want to bring excitement [to] the literary community,” Siedler said. “In our first meeting, we had a 28 student turnout, which is crazy for the club. It normally is very small.”
According to Siedler, the leadership transition comes at a pivotal moment for the magazine as they work to build a new foundation with underclassmen.
“As we’re stepping up as new leaders, there’s a ton of new members, so it’s an entirely new shift,” Clarke said.
Siedler said after volunteering as editor-in-chief apprentices in their junior year, Siedler and Clarke were able to become editors-in-chief.
“We [shadowed the editors-in chief’s] process, from opening submissions to printing the final issue, [to] ensure [we] would be prepared to follow in their footsteps after they graduated,” Siedler said.
According to Clarke, this semester, the theme “Guts” was collectively voted on through a Google form containing the most popular options.
“[Guts] can mean a variety of things,” Siedler said. “It can mean acting in the absence of fear or acting in the presence of fear. It can mean the way our bodies have a gut feeling about something or the way we can spill our guts. [There is] a mind-body connection going on.”
According to Clarke, while the theme serves as an initial spark for writers and artists, The Oz remains open to all ideas.
“We receive a ton of submissions that are not centered around the theme, and a lot make it into the issue,” Clarke said. “We aren’t chained to [the theme].”
Clarke said she and Siedler are intent on maintaining a cooperative environment at the magazine.
“[The Oz] really is super collaborative,” Clarke said. “While [my co-editor-in-chief] Nisha and I do a lot of the organizing, it really is a club effort.”
According to writer Brooke Mohiuddin (first year), student contributors have noticed the publication’s welcoming atmosphere.
“It was very laid back,” Mohiuddin said. “I think it seemed very inviting […] for [first years] to have somewhere [we] can walk into.”
Returning poet Jane Brinkley (senior) said she has seen profound creative and structural progression within The Oz.
“When I first arrived, I was the only Black person that was a part of The Oz magazine,” Brinkley said. “From my time that I’ve been here […] [the club] definitely has [grown].”
According to Brinkley, this expanding diversity has pushed the content of the magazine into deeper territories.
“When I first joined, there wasn’t a solidified theme for The Oz,” Brinkley said. “Everybody had a very similar style of writing, but over time, you [saw] people touching on political, social and economic aspects within their poetry, even ideals of sexuality and queerness.”
According to Brinkley, the theme of “Guts” has already sparked several creative concepts.
“When I read [the theme], I thought of a literal and visual sense of guts, of inner organs,” Brinkley said. “But you can take [guts] to a deeper consciousness […] one person explained it on a spiritual [level], how guts itself represents a line between us as mortals and the spiritual world.”
Annelise Phillips (first year) said she balanced these varying interpretations while collaborating on the publication’s promotional artwork.
“Guts is really easy to make visceral and violent,” Phillips said. “The heads of the magazine made a point of [not wanting] the theme to be too suggestive for people submitting. So we toned it down.”
According to Siedler, to better support writers, the editorial team is introducing write-ins.
“Normally, [working with writers is] not a close process, but we have been trying to make it [closer],” Siedler said. “We want to continue open mics [and writing workshops]. We also want to start having write-ins, [where] everyone [can] write together, [and] ask us questions.”
According to Siedler, due to budget constraints limiting the magazine’s page count, The Oz relies on a selection committee of volunteer members to decide which pieces to include. Siedler said the committee takes extra precautions to prevent bias when editors and committee members submit to the magazine.
“Normally [pieces have] names anonymized […] so that [selection] is not biased,” Siedler said. “If you want to be a part of the selection committee and you submit a piece, then we have your [name attached].”
Siedler said the committee prioritizes authenticity when evaluating submissions.
“[We look for] anything that has a unique voice,” Siedler said. “Something that feels emotionally resonant.”
According to Brinkley, amplifying student voices is a crucial purpose of The Oz.
“Although there is enjoyment [in] showing off your work, there’s a deeper importance of getting students’ voices out,” Brinkley said. “The Oz didn’t teach me how to be successful in my writing — it taught me how to grow as a person.”
Contact Mira Wirk at wirk@oxy.edu
