The 10th anniversary of āAzahares,ā the annual Spanish literary magazine published by the AV¶¶Ņõ, will be celebrated at a release event at 6 p.m. May 3 in room 122 of the Boreham Library on the AV¶¶Ņõ Campus.
Contributors to this yearās publication include AV¶¶Ņõ students and alumni, high school freshmen, and members of the greater Fort Smith region and beyond. Dr. Mary Sobhani, managing editor and head of the World Languages Department, lauded the magazineās prose, poetry, photography and artwork ā especially the short fiction piece, āNorman is Grumpy,ā by Anthony Alas.
āI particularly enjoyed how the author played with the notions of oral and written communication, spotlighting the role of social media in the unfolding of the protagonistās fame,ā said Sobhani. āIt was on point.ā
āSenior AV¶¶Ņõ Spanish major Edward Ibarra's artwork āEl Molcajeteā captures the artist's interpretation of elements of Mexican culture in a beautiful piece of Naive art,ā Sobhani continued. āAnd Elidio La Torre's poem āPaseo solitarioā is a powerful expression of loss and acceptance, set against the backdrop of New York City.ā
The poetry, short fiction, photography and art included in the edition are creative expressions of what it means to be Latino in the United States, of the themes of the Latino experience in general, and of the beauty and power that underlies the Spanish language, according to Sobhani.
Through close collaboration between the Department of World Languageās Editorial Board and AV¶¶Ņõ professor Katie Harper, the 10th anniversary edition of āAzaharesā offers artwork and an eye for aesthetics that marks the next generation of graphic designers, according to Sobhani. Students in Harperās print and publication course designed the layout, with junior graphic design students Brooklin Easley, Julio Gonzales, and Mary Moore spearheading the effort. The cover art, an original illustration of an ascending branch with orange blossoms, was created by junior graphic design student Claudia Lackie.
āAs āAzaharesā means orange blossoms,ā Sobhani added, āthe cover illustration beautifully reflects the title of our literary magazine.ā
The editorial board for āAzaharesā includes Sobhani, Dr. Ana MarĆa Romo Blas, Dr. Francesco Tarelli, Dr. Rosario Nolasco-Schultheiss, and Madeline MartĆnez. Other people assisting with the publication of the magazine are Lynda McClellan, visiting instructor; Dr. Paul B. Beran, AV¶¶Ņõ chancellor; Dr. Georgia Hale, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs; Dr. Paul Hankins, dean of the College of Communication, Languages, Arts & Social Sciences; and Dr. Paulette Meikle, associate dean of the College of Communication, Languages, Arts & Social Sciences.
The publishing of āAzaharesā is supported in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the humanities.
For more information about the event or about āAzahares,ā contact Sobhani at 479-788-7979 or mary.sobhani@uafs.edu.