The Crew – Forum Magazine

Meet the Editors 2017 [Part Two]

Posted on March 23, 2017 by webforumccsf

Today we’re meeting the head genre editors!

These talented folx are in charge of maintaining the submission logs of their specialty, organizing the submissions, and leading reader discussions. They’re also responsible for editing, author revisions, proofreading, and work in conjunction with the Managing Editor to communicate with authors and artists.

Bryce Riegel is our Fiction Editor

Bryce presides over the brilliant fiction crowd.

Bryce Riegel moved to San Francisco 7 years ago for school (with a B.S. in biochemistry with a physics minor). He’s now a carpenter and spends most of his time remodeling houses and apartment buildings in the city. In his free time he’s either writing short stories or reading them.

Kriz Natalie Monrose is our Nonfiction Editor

Kriz Natalie Monrose is your Transgender gender fluid non-fiction editor! Thank you for reading this blog. She likes all animals, especially cats and snakes! She’s looking for a husband. To apply, email submissions@forumccsf.org.

Kevin Cosby is our Poetry Editor

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Kevin Cosby lives and works in San Francisco. He recently #####%%&&
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Meredith Brown and Lulu Samuel are our joint Visual Arts Editors

Lucretia Rhys Samuel is a Visual Arts Editor on this edition of Forum. She is a poetry-writer and a zine-maker residing in the Richmond District of San Francisco. She is currently studying Creative Writing and Visual Media Design at CCSF, working at the San Francisco SPCA, and spending too many hours hogging the xerox machine at the public library publishing her own zines.

Meredith Brown is a lifelong learner from Tracy, CA. She believes in empathy, art and science.

Meet The Editors 2017 [Part One]

Posted on March 21, 2017 by webforumccsf

Our first round of introductions covers the three editors whose purview is multi-genre!

Oyunbileg (Obo) Shirendev is our Managing Editor
The Managing Editor builds and maintains a log of all work received, directs all submissions to make sure they are received by the appropriate editors, and proofs work for accuracy. She also oversees communication with authors and artists.

Originally from UB, Mongolia– the land of the blue sky and endless steppe– Obo has made San Francisco her second home. She is majoring in Child Development and Creative Writing at CCSF. She loves reading, films, fashion, traveling and art. People like Martin Luther King Jr, Mahatma Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Malala Yousafzai, Jhumpa Lahiri, Salvadori Dali, and Frida Kahlo inspire her. She also believes in the power of helping others and supporting one another through unconditional kindness.

Whenever she has free time besides school and work, she travels and think that experience is something that makes her grow as a person. Not only does she enjoy traveling but also learning about different cultures, the way of life and meeting new people. She works as a part time Applied Behavioral Analysis therapist with children who are autistic. She wants to be a good therapist, counselor, teacher and educator in the near future.

“Be the change you want to see in the world”

Carolina Pistone is our General Editor
The General Editor directs the project, serving as overseer of the magazine as a whole. She works with layout editors and attends meetings with the Graphics Department. In coordination with Faculty Advisors and the other editors, she develops the policies to establish and support the quality and vision of Forum Magazine.

Carolina Pistone was born in Argentina, raised on the East Coast of the United States (north and south), and is currently life-ing in San Francisco. She loves croissants, probably too much for the well-being of any one individual and doesn’t like the smell of bananas. She likes people, animals (she has three cats), books, art, design, movies (The Land Before Time gets her every time!), authentic conversations, and did we mention croissants? She also likes to write sometimes. She plans to one day die of croissant overload.

Zach Hauptman is our Social Media/Web Editor
The Web Editor is in charge of keeping our social media and blog alive and growing. In conjunction with the Managing, General and Genre-specific Editors, they organize and plan social media postings, including photos, literary selections and calendars of events. Also, they’re very cute.

Zach Hauptman is an Electronic Resources Librarian at Touro University by day, a CCSF student at night, and a gigantic genderqueer nerd at all times (they/them pronouns, pls!). With their group, Truth Sans Justice, they run panels on popular culture, misogyny and the queer community, and write LARPs that run in and around the SF Bay Area. In their copious free time, they write poetry, short fiction and snarky blogs about social issues.

Day After The Deadline: Your editors and readers hard at work!

Posted on March 1, 2017March 1, 2017 by webforumccsf

We got such an overwhelming response to our call for submissions!

Here’s a quick glimpse into Forum Magazine lab night– we’re all really excited to share some amazing pieces with you, here and in the published magazine.

The poetry group, with Professor Brych listening in

Meredith and Lulu, our visual arts team

Professor Brych gives advice to the visual arts team

In the foreground: Carolina (General Editor), Obo (Managing Editor), and KrizNatalie (Non-fiction Editor). In the background: Meredith and Lulu (Visual Arts)

Fiction editor Bryce gets work ready for his fiction group

The fiction group, with additional input from Obo and Carolina

KrizNatalie, excited to get to work on the Non-Fiction pieces

Lulu and Meredith pause their discussion for a cute photo

Left: Obo (Managing Editor), Right: Carolina (General Editor)

KrizNatalie and Carolina confab while Obo handles new submissions

An early poetry group discussion

Professors Julie Young and Jen Sullivan Brych in a rare moment of seriousness

Professor Julie Young (zombie)

Your lovely Web Editor in a moment of repose

Weekly Feature Editor #2: James (Jesse) Crawford

Posted on April 13, 2016April 13, 2016 by webforumccsf

Mirror
By James Crawford
I.
I can’t speak for the mirror, standing
outside, I am inside & different, and
why question anything anyways if it’s
the room that thinks we live our lives
strange.
a tiny apartment, a kitchen, & a closet
is emptied of items that might suggest
— a couple is living, taking up
space (what else) standing several
feet apart they stare into a mirror.
II.
The space between us
is the void. a carpet.
the absence of a rug.
the thought of your dog
shedding in June the winter
we thought we’d lost him.
(it must be strange. alone.
in that big house)
I am behind you(hello)
I am living. more as couch
than person. you are window
(&I mess up. I call you television)
we change names the same way.
an old man complains. the summer
is hot. winter is not cold enough.
we change names hoping
humans
are seasonal things. will stick
around with the earth.
(men are not built in motion.
But in still hammocks of their own
imagination.)
Drying,
dripping wet. you come out of the
shower. the diffused
light. like a quick violence
in July. is frightening the blackbirds filling the
frame. obscuring you. (as an idea)
your form: a black cloud. your
nakedness: another kind of death. with
a towel crown. the fog dissipates. &it
appears that I am sleeping. Dreaming you
as television.
III.
As couch. A few years from now.
I sit &expect you among others.
today is your birthday. happy
birthday. I wonder if you will
leave your house. At the party,
people dance to wild music (Can
you recall the viola player’s face?
The dutiful shadow. Who stayed
Silent till morning. Needing only
the fare
to get wherever
he was going next.)
You arrive late under a large, Russian satellite.
Refusing Heaven. Like a crucifix.
You take the seat across from me.
Adjust your awkward antennae. Channel your suffering.
(with an umbrella, he shields you from the sun&
with his free hand points west, assuring you, “Arizona
didn’t kill your mother”
((no))
Your mother killed your mother in the second person,
&then poured herself a drink. I read it in a poem. It
was taped to a pipe under our sink.)
IV.
Through the open window
church bells come in& touch everything:
Your body’s black script
My own pale index of symbols. Naked by the
bookshelf where poems go missing (which poem.
this poem? I can no longer be certain) they knock
at my chest and wait for the heart to answer.
Yesterday,
I hung the mirror to the ceiling. Underneath,
our bodies took shape in a painting I’d make.
One winter alone.
Near the place where men kill chickens.
Believe the magician.
Two things can happen at once, but always
with the possibility
one or the other is forgotten.

Weekly Feature Editor #1 Olivia Maaghul

Posted on March 9, 2016April 13, 2016 by webforumccsf

He stood –

hunched over himself,

at the corner,

haphazardly

on two streets.

like a streetlight-

steaming,

Mingling with no one,

except…

for his cigarette.

Fascinated-

One might have said

that that four-inch-roll

of sweet tobacco

knew him better

than anyone in the world.

And when he held it,

onlookers,

grew jealous,

desperate

for just a moment

between his fingers,

closer,

than anyone had ever been-

solidarity

their agreement: coherent.

as the cigarette

suffocates,

osculates,

the man

puffs away

his secrets,

guiltless indulgence,

friendship,

and without a second thought-

toss.

Thank You and Pictures

Posted on June 11, 2014September 3, 2014 by webforumccsf

Thank you so much to everyone who made our Forum Spring 2014 issue launch party such a success! Big thanks especially to: Bird & Beckett Books for so graciously hosting the event in their fabulous bookstore (seriously check it out, it’s amazing!), our contributors for producing all the immensely beautiful content in this issue, to our advisors and staff for putting in the long hours needed to get the work in print, CCSF’s graphics department for dedicating their talents to the layout, and to everyone who came to the launch party to show their support.

A special thank you to Bill McGuire, whose tireless efforts to raise money for the English Department social fund added up to a very generous donation to support our production costs. We still get all teary just thinking about it.

If you’d like to buy an issue of Forum’s Spring 2014 issue, please stop by Bird & Beckett or the CCSF Ocean Campus Bookstore. Each copy is $10, and all profits go toward funding future issues of the magazine.

If you’d like to work for Forum next semester, we’d love to have you! Just apply through CCSF (applications are open to everyone) and register for English 35L. Or, if you’d like to submit your work to be published, please visit our submissions page for more guidelines. The Fall 2014 submissions deadline will be in September.

Have a great summer, everyone! Before you take off to enjoy backyard BBQs and camping trips by the lake, please take a minute check out photos of our launch party over on our Facebook page. Just click the pic below:

Rejection Letters Sent to Famous People

Posted on March 20, 2014March 20, 2014 by webforumccsf

It’s not easy receiving that cursed rejection letter in the mail, and often times it’s no easier for a publication to decide not to publish your piece. No matter if you ever receive a rejection letter from us or any other publication. It certainly doesn’t mean you lack talent, drive or a great career in the arts. Don’t believe me? The take a look at this great Mental Floss piece highlighting 10 rejection letters sent to 10 of our most beloved authors, musicians and artists. Click the image for the full article. Good luck to all of you in your bright, creative endeavors!

Introducing the Editors for Spring 2014

Posted on March 9, 2014April 10, 2014 by webforumccsf

Introducing our team of editors for the Spring 2014 issue of Forum Magazine! These are the people who, thanks to your contributions and the help of the graphics department on campus, are able to put together this fantastic magazine every semester.

Katerina Argyres
General Editor

Katerina Argyres is currently enrolled in CCSF and SF State. When she’s not studying, working, or entertaining her dog she likes to watch old movies set in San Francisco and cook. She is currently on a detective novel spree. It is inspiring her to write short mysteries and narrate her daily activities like she is in a noir film.
~
Kristine Nodalo
Managing Editor
Drama and Visual Arts Reader

Kristine Nodalo has been living in San Francisco for ten years, but has continually failed to find the cool places where the cool kids hang out. In her spare time, she likes to hole up in her room with a pizza all to herself while watching Downton Abbey. You’ll usually find her hungry and searching for more food, or with her nose in a book.

~
Virginia Carrillo
Assistant Managing Editor
Poetry Reader

Virginia Carrillo currently works at a public library. She is a student at City College of San Francisco and wishes to obtain a bachelor’s in English literature. Her house is currently infested with literature books and cats, all around!

Leith Mahoney-Maver
Social Media Editor
Assistant Non-Fiction Editor

The daughter of two hippies from the Santa Cruz Mountains, the third of four children, left-handed, and she once met David Sedaris while living in Paris, which has been a life highlight. She writes about all of it in a blog called The San Franciscan.
~
Osiris Walls
Fiction Editor
Assistant Drama Editor
Poetry Reader

not unlike the moon
dark, pulsing clouds will reveal
My Incandescence
~
Brian Fidler
Drama Editor
Assistant Fiction Editor

Brian currently studies English at CCSF and lives in Oakland.
~
Sara McKinney
Poetry Editor

Writes, paints, and sings in San Francisco. A South Carolina native, she loves life in the city, but will never forget home. Her favorite color is all of them, and 2014 is going to be her year.

Elise Stewart
Non-Fiction Editor
Visual Arts Co-Editor

Since graduating from San Francisco State with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature in 2012, Elise has endeavored to find employment that, in some way or another, would help to facilitate her unwavering wanderlust. After a number of ill-fits–including a short, yet soul-crushing stint as a slampiece in the tech world; a demeaning personal assistantship for a racist psychiatrist; and a dismal temp job at a bridesmaid-dress startup–she has cycled back to the academic bubble. Eager to reassume a place among those with full heads and empty stomachs, Elise has ungrudgingly shelved her travel plans to reenter the figurative space she feels most at home in: that of visual arts and literature.
~
Bryan Makishi
Assistant Non-Fiction Editor
Assistant Fiction Editor

Bryan likes to find good books at garage sales and at his coin laundromat’s “Take a book Leave a book” table.
~
David Chang
Visual Arts Co-Editor

A facetious person. Self-proclaimed “cool” (more like borderline narcissistic), he will always do his best to give you a good time and a good laugh.
~

Gary Baker
Business and Fundraising Manager
Events Coordinator

Born in the East Bay, Gary has lived all 48 years of his life in the Bay Area. A baseball fan, softball player, music aficionado and pop culture junkie, Gary is also a former music marketing professional. Gary has returned to college to be an English teacher at the high school level. This is his third year as a part-time student at CCSF, and he will be transferring to SFSU in the fall.

Meet the Spring 2013 Staff

Posted on April 1, 2013October 29, 2017 by forumccsf

Jerome Steegmans, General Editor
Author. Editor. Occultist. Publisher. On my bedside table: Terisa Batista; Home From the Wars by Jorge Amado; Tell My Horse by Zora Neale Hurston; Norse Mythology and the Modern Human Being by Ernst Uehli; The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi; the February 2013 issue of Poetry; the Winter 2012 issue of The Paris Review; A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake by Joseph Campbell and Henry Morton Robinson; The Red Book (or Liber Novus, a reader’s edition) by C.G. Jung; The Old Testament, by God (sic). On my eReader: Finnegans Wake by James Joyce; Lolita by Vladamir Nabokov; Nine Lectures on Bees by Rudolf Steiner; Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace; The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick; the Alan Moore stretch of Swamp Thing. Perhaps I am reading too many things at once …

Seth Luther, Managing Editor
Seth Luther is the managing editor this semester for Forum Magazine. He is currently reading Kobo Abe. He also likes very much Kafka and Vonnegut. He is also the mastermind behind Magicwear Manwear Underwear: a manufacturer of manly magical underwear designed specifically for men who are magicians. His efficiency studio apartment receives no light causing mold to grow on his face instead of facial hair.

Nick Witstok, Fiction Editor
Nick Witstok is in his third year at City College and is a fiction junkie/editor at Forum. He has taken a handful of creative writing classes, reads Cormac McCarthy almost religiously, writes surreal/dark fiction, jams at local metal shows, and is currently working on a story which will undoubtedly drive him insane. Also enjoys Faulkner, Hemingway, Thomas Harris, Dennis Lehane, Stephen King, Joseph Conrad, Tim O’ Brien and The Art of War. Continue reading Meet the Spring 2013 Staff