The “Write On, Downtown” journal started as a project in 2007 to celebrate student writing on the Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix campus. Now it honors creatives from all walks of life—no university degree required.
“We only publish flash prose, poetry, short interviews and profiles of community-based creatives (with 750 words or fewer), so we definitely have a proclivity for concise writing with a punch,” Editor-in-chief Rosemarie Dombrowski said. “We also like things that feel like they were birthed in the communities of Phoenix, from poetry to memoir, photography to street art.”
Dombrowski said “WOD” switched from a student journal to one that accepts community submissions after some creative writing classes were canceled downtown.
“Without those classes, we no longer had a pool of creative writing students to elicit work from, and if there were students producing creative work in the shadows, they didn’t know about the journal,” she said.
The journal then turned to the community for submissions. Dombrowski said that local creatives take pride in their work reaching the community they live in.
According to ASU’s College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, “WOD” now features the work of around 40 percent university students, 40 percent alumni and community members and 20 percent of students from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
Local poet Shawnte Orion is one local writer whose work has been published in “WOD.” “I did not go to ASU,” he said, adding that he has not gone to college at all. “I pretty much got a [Master’s of Fine Arts] from the downtown Phoenix art scene.”
His most recent poem published in the journal, “Why You Are Banned From The Willow House,” was about a missed call from his friend Rocky.
“He was in a band called the Skinwalkers and I was doing various poetry readings, so we liked to collaborate and do shows together,” Orion said. “I often got accidental butt-dialed phone calls from him when he was at band practice and I would usually just ignore them, but one of those times I didn’t answer, he was calling on a bad acid or mushroom trip and freaking out in the Willow House, which was an iconic part of the scene in those days.”
Orion said that it’s common for people to get excited about being published in a highbrow publication from New York or Seattle, but local publications are just as important.
“I know so many talented and accomplished folks around here, that I’m proud and excited to be included in a publication that showcases many of those artists who have also been shaped by this city,” he said.
Although students aren’t the only content creators now, they’re still intimately involved with the journal. “WOD” is edited by students through an editorial internship class at ASU, which gives them real-world industry experience.
“We’re always looking for eager interns. It’s a 16-week, 3-credit class that meets at noon every Friday in the spring,” Dombrowski, who is a faculty member at ASU, said.
During the spring of 2019, design students were also involved in the journal’s process.
“We did partner with Danielle Foushee of the Herberger School of Design in 2019 in the hopes of designing a journal that could capture the vibe of Phoenix,” Dombrowski said.
Before they could start crafting their designs, the students had to immerse themselves in the culture of downtown Phoenix.
They designed at least 12 covers for the “WOD” 2019 edition, all of which were “staggeringly cool, visually awesome, and all had the flavor of Phoenix,” Dombrowski said. “It was evident that they had their fingers on the pulse of the city and understood what kind of journal we wanted to become.”
She said that the students involved with “WOD” were excited about its transition. Not only did it bring in new design elements and community voices, but it also gave them an opportunity to profile local bands, tattoo artists, zine makers and other members of Phoenix’s colorful artistic community.
“These artists/art forms are part of the cultural fabric of any big city, and given Phoenix’s stature, it’s a little surprising that we don’t see a dozen publications dedicated to the always burgeoning arts and culture scene,” she said. “That’s why the editors have been so passionate about producing flash profiles over the past two to three years: They’re producing content that they’d want to see as readers, highlighting artists and art forms that they’d want to know about.”
“I love that ‘WOD’ features a great blend of accomplished writers who have been widely published, emerging writers who deserve a larger audience, even student writers being published for the first time,” Orion said. “’WOD’ is an efficient way to introduce us all to each other and expose our work to new audiences.”
“WOD” is sold at Changing Hands Bookstore on Camelback Road in Phoenix.
Passionate writers based in Phoenix can submit to the “WOD” 2020 issue, which will release on May 1, 2020.
“Our new editorial interns will help to shape the narrative of the 2020 ‘WOD’,” she said. “I’m hoping for more urban/street art, spoken word poetry, flash memoir, socio-political writings with a creative bent.”
Anyone in Phoenix can send their submissions to writeonasu@gmail.com.
Contact the reporter at sosulli2@asu.edu
