A new literary magazine called The Sunflower Shadow was started at Sunflower High School this year. They publish original short stories, poetry, and essays by students, and have a section for literary reviews.
Quotes
From sophomore Marcel Dobrev, co-editor of The Shadow
- “I’ve always loved reading, but always struggled to find a genre that I really loved. Then, in Mr. Rothesberg’s class, we read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and I fell in love with the horror genre. I don’t just like it because I think it’s scary. I find it really beautiful too.”
- “I sat next to Cressida in Mr. Rothesberg’s class last year. We didn’t really know each other, but started talking about how we both read Frankenstein recently and became instant friends.”
- “Cressida came up with the idea for The Shadow. She started reading a lot of literary magazines last summer and thought we could make one of our own. I was supportive, but never thought we’d come as far as we have. I’m really proud of the team for making this a reality.”
- “I’d say I do a lot of the planning and Cressida reviews all the pieces for the magazine. It’s a good balance. We work well together.”
- “When we received our first part of the Seen story we knew it was going to be a hit. The mystery behind the author and drawing inspiration from his or her fellow students made for a story every student could read.”
From sophomore Cressida Conway, co-editor of The Shadow
- “The Shadow is the only way I feel I can truly express myself. I love to create, but am terrible at drawing, so I use words as my medium. Not everyone understands it, and that’s okay, because I understand it. The Shadow has given me a way to create something beautiful in my own eyes.”
- “I got the idea for The Shadow from my older brother. He’s a junior at Sunflower State University and is studying English. He would always bring home literary magazines, so one day I decided to take a look. It was all the things I loved to read packaged into one convenient magazine. I knew I could make something like that. I just needed the right people to help me with it.”
- “Marcel has been great to work with. He is really supportive of my ideas, no matter how crazy they sound. He’s also really organized which helps keep us moving at the right pace. I’m so thankful for him. I could never keep all those details straight.”
- “The Seen author changed the game for The Shadow. Before the first story, we had published two issues and were having trouble capturing the attention of the students. After we received the first anonymous story our subscriptions and sales spiked. I hope the author will continue to write for us after he or she concludes Seen. The author is extremely talented and I really want to read more of his or her work.”
From junior Derek Pupillo, photo editor of The Shadow
- “What does a photo editor do at a magazine dedicated to words? Get really creative. Unlike other photographers, I can’t just snap a picture of the subject of a story. This is fiction we’re working with! I’ve created my own studio in my basement where we do a lot of staging to get intriguing and artistic photos to pair with our stories.”
- “Besides photos, I contribute a lot of original art pieces to the magazine as well. I like abstract art the best. It helps me clear my head. My favorite thing to do when I finish a piece is figure out an interesting way to photograph it for The Shadow. It’s a fun way to combine my two favorite art forms.”
- “I’ve started my own little investigation into who the Seen writer could be. Besides the people on The Shadow staff, there aren’t too many student writers I know of besides those on The Sunflower newspaper staff. I have a few leads, but if I ever figure out who it is I’ll keep his or her secret. I just want to know for my own personal satisfaction.”
From sophomore Natalia Chevsky, designer of The Shadow
- “Designing for The Shadow has been awesome. The magazine is super dark and edgy, so it was fun coming up with a visual theme to match it.”
- “I do a lot of page designing, but we have one to two features every issue that I get to create original graphics for. Those are always my favorites.”
- “My favorite feature we’ve done was an extensive look into Edgar Allen Poe’s tragic life. I got to create a lot of ravens, gravestones, broken hearts and black cats. We reuse those graphics a lot now.”
- “I wish I knew who the Seen writer is. The author is so talented and I really want to put a face to the genius behind these stories.”
From senior Alexander Spencer, head of literary review for The Shadow
- “I would consider myself one of the most opinionated people you’ll ever meet and that’s why I was born to write reviews. I’ve always loved to read and watch movies or short films. I started leaving reviews on IMDb and Goodreads when I was 10 and haven’t stopped since.”
- “The title of my review section is Spencer Says… . I review old and new movies or short films, reader submitted poems, short stories or essays, and any new books I’ve read. I also have a suggestion box if readers want my hot take on anything under the sun.”
- “When Cressida and Marcel asked if I’d run the review section of The Shadow, I told them I’d need a sample of the magazine first. I can’t have my name tied to just anything! They gave me a mockup and I was obsessed. It was so edgy and a little goth… I was here for it.”
- “After reading the Seen stories, I gave out my first ever 10 star rating. The quality of writing, the mystery of the author’s identity and knowing you might be the subject of the next part created the perfect storm.”
From Jordan Rothsberg, freshman English teacher at Sunflower High
- “I love to see my previous students really diving into literature like this. The Shadow is such a cool idea and something Sunflower High has never seen before.”
- “When The Shadow team asked me to serve as an advisor for their new literary magazine I was honored and accepted immediately. I give them free reign to write and work on almost anything they want, as long as it’s appropriate. My main job is to make sure we get our digital publication to the printer on time.”
- “Cressida and Marcel were some of my best students. You could tell they both had a passion for any form of literature and wanted to get the deeper meaning out of every piece. It’s not every day you have students in your classroom who ask you what you think the purple room symbolizes in The Masque of The Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe.”
- “I actually do know who the Seen author is. This student came to me to ask if it was a good idea and if I could edit his or her work. I gave my wholehearted support and swore myself to secrecy. The author hasn’t told me if he or she will reveal his or her identity after the story concludes. We’ll just have to wait and see!”
