Botticelli Magazine: Celebrating Word and Art in the Year of COVID-19

A literary magazine published by the Columbus College of Art & Design?

The concept seemed surprising yet cool to the editorial staff of Columbus Alive as they selected the 15th edition of Botticelli Magazine as its Daily Distraction feature recently. CCAD’s annual literary and art journal is produced and edited by students each spring semester.

It should come as no surprise to liberal arts students, however, that art and literature are intertwined—each one influencing the other, reflecting humanity and the times. The best of both express our shared experiences and emotions. That’s especially true with lit in the year of COVID-19. 

Literary magazines are a community of contents, formed and shaped by many individuals working together. Normally, the magazine is put together in a CCAD course called Literary Publishing, with students soliciting submissions, making editorial and design decisions, and the hundreds of tasks necessary to produce a literary publication. With campus closed due to the pandemic, what once was planned and implemented in the physical space of a classroom was quickly moved online. 

When asked what to look for from the new issue during an interview for Red Wheelbarrow: The Podcast, Sophia Kartsonis, Professor of Writing, Literature & Philosophy and the issue’s faculty editor, said, “We can expect the typical vibrancy, but I guess there was something more that was unavoidable—an urgency. … I don’t think it can be more urgent and vibrant just because we had to find a way to do it.”

Intrigued? 

Check out CCAD's Botticelli Magazine online or snag a print version this fall on campus. The writers and artists you will love tomorrow can be found in its pages today. Then find a nice cozy space to leisurely peruse this compelling collection of student art and literature and be sure to share it with a friend.

Learn more about Liberal Arts at CCAD or apply here.