Literature and film continually reimagine an ever-changing world, and through our research we discover our relationships to those art forms and the cultures they manifest. Publishing one issue per year, Wide Angle serves as a conduit for the expression and critique of that imagination. The journal provides a venue for undergraduate research and an opportunity for students to gain experience in editing and publishing. As a wide-angle lens captures a broad field of vision, this journal expands its focus to include critical and creative works, namely academic essays, book and film reviews, and commentaries, as well as original poetry, short fiction and non-fiction, and screenplays.
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Cover Artist: Dora Baca
Dora Baca grew up in Lima, Perú, and Huntsville, Alabama. As a multidisciplinary artist, Dora hopes to create harmony in the differing seams of her life and to bring attention to the love she feels for her friends and family in everything she does. As a Studio Art senior, Dora has been contemplating the next steps of her career and has come to the natural conclusion that she should find herself collaging somewhere in Germany while mastering the art of freestyle rapping this summer.
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Managing Editor: Sarah Chew
Sarah is a junior English and Philosophy double major from Albuquerque, NM. When not competing on the debate team or reading for class, she enjoys debating with friends or reading for fun, along with taking long walks and playing music. After graduation, she hopes to pursue graduate work in the lucrative field of the humanities.
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Assistant Managing Editor: Alaina Boyer
Alaina is a junior English and Philosophy major from Madison, AL. When she’s not absorbed in her class readings, chasing answers to another philosophical quandary, she’s likely pursuing the same goal with a barbell in hand or while savoring a cup of pour over in the company of her closest friends. After graduation, she plans to apply to graduate programs with hopes of becoming a teacher of great books.
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Literature Editor: Ana Wright
Ana Wright is a junior English major with minors in Music and Biblical Studies. She thinks that the human experience is intricate and baffling and wonderful, and things like music and writing allow us to experience this beautiful complexity together. Ana loves making music with friends, drinking tea and chatting about poetry, and watching the stars come out right after the sun sets. After graduation, she hopes to continue to do such things
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Film Editor: Cooper Pitts
Cooper is a sophomore English and Global Studies double major from Hoover, AL. When not writing poetry or furiously taking notes in class, he enjoys going on a hike to melancholically look out over a cliff and attempting to make latte art. His filmic interests include the work of John Waters and the intersection of theology and film. After graduation, he will go watch a sunset and ponder what to eat for dinner (and maybe get a Christianity and the Arts MA).
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Creative Writing Editor: Maddie Benton
Maddie is a junior English major with a concentration in creative writing and a minor in history, which she hopes will magically translate into a career as a historical fiction writer. She is from Baton Rouge, LA. In the rare moments she’s not reading for school or for fun she can be found laughing with her friends and family.
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Creative Writing Editor: Reese Doner
Reese is a senior English major from The Woodlands, TX. Her literary interests lie predominantly in fantasy genres and vying to one day edit novels in said genres. Beyond the pages, she enjoys listening to punk rock, watching YouTube, and drawing on her iPad.
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General Editor: Jennifer Ellis West
Dr. West serves as faculty sponsor for Wide Angle. She specializes in Rhetoric and Writing Studies and directs the Core Writing program at Samford, where she is also Associate Professor of English. Her first writing job was for The Clinton News when she was in 7th grade, and she became the editor of Mississippi Magazine right after college. Despite 20 years of teaching first-year writing, she has yet to tire of giving feedback to aspiring writers.
Submission Guidelines
Submissions will be accepted from all Samford students, faculty, alumni,and staff. Authors are limited to submitting two pieces per category. All submissions must be anonymous; please do not include identifying information in the submission document. Upon acceptance of submission, the contributor will be required to sign a copyright waiver prior to publication. All accepted submissions must follow current MLA style guidelines and be free of any grammatical errors.
Critical Essays
Essays can be close readings or analyses of any literary or cinematic subject. Submissions should not exceed 9,000 words.
Reviews and Commentaries
- Reviews of recently released novels, short stories, poetry collections, scholarly works, and anthologies. Reviews should be around 1,000 words.
- Commentaries on recent literature-related events or other topics in print culture. Commentaries should be around 1,000 words.
- Reviews of recently released films, DVDs/BluRays, and scholarly works pertaining to cinema. Reviews should be around 1,000 words.
- Commentaries on such subjects as: local film-related events/topics, national/international film-related events, or other topics in film culture. Commentaries should be around 1,000 words.
Short Film
- Short films must be original and should not exceed 10 minutes in length.
- Short films should be submitted as .mov or as another format compressed into a .zip file.
Poetry
- Submissions may consist of a single poem or a collection of 2-3 related poems.
- All poems must be contained in one Word document. Each poem must be formatted on its own page with a title for each poem. Include explanatory or contextualizing comments if necessary.
Prose
- Prose may be short fiction or creative non-fiction.
- Submissions should not exceed twenty pages.
Screenplays
Submissions should be between 5-15 pages. For longer works, please submit an excerpt with an introduction describing the context. Follow standard screenplay formatting guidelines.
