Submitting to The Aerie is a great way to express yourself and become enriched with truth, goodness and beauty on your way to becoming wise, honorable and cultivated citizens. The deadline for submissions is Sun., Dec. 4.

English Professor, Kristen Schmidt, co-advisor for The Aerie, said, “Publishing in The Aerie is one way for writers to make their voice heard and to connect with other humans. Our journey to becoming wise, honorable and cultivated citizens depends on what we teach and learn from each other. Engaging with language, both as writers and readers, is one way to do that.”

The process of crafting one’s work for submission to The Aerie is a rewarding process. Kirstie Skogerboe, Assistant Director of the Writing Studio, found that committing to submitting to The Aerie encourages her to write. She said, “The Aerie has tended to induce the creative labor pains that push out the one poem I have in me each year. I need a deadline and a long-gestating idea or feeling to write about; my best writing rarely comes from sudden inspiration.”

Skogerboe added, “The Aerie reminds me to take time to develop my thoughts into something that could be valuable to someone else, not just to me.”

While writing and creating art for the Aerie is important, the publication also needs an audience. Schmidt also encouraged students to read The Aerie by saying, “Readers of creative writing also become athletes of the word, in a sense, when they allow the writing to both move and engage them on an intellectual level.”

Seth Skogerboe, an editor for The Aerie, added, “Good writers are better readers. The inverse isn’t necessarily the case, but reading well can’t hurt our chances, can it?”

Many individuals have enjoyed reading the publication’s previous volumes. Laura Gibson, freshman at Concordia, said, “It is a pleasant way to showcase the work that was done by students, alumni and faculty.” She added that, “It was easily accessible.”

Numerous individuals come together to craft The Aerie. Seth Skogerboe said submissions to The Aerie “are all reviewed by a mixed panel of students, professors and alumni from varying backgrounds who share a common interest in great writing. We meet as a panel to discuss our readings after Christmas break, and to vote on which pieces should be included.”

Seth Skogerboe’s tips for submitting work to the Aerie include “submitting your best work, getting feedback and reading great writing.”

“Before you turn in a final draft, make sure someone else you trust—maybe more than one someone—has looked over your work. As iron sharpens iron, so one writer’s feedback makes another writer’s content less ambiguous/confusing and/or bad. The Writing Studio is usually where I go for this,” said Seth Skogerboe. 

Livia Meinz, another editor for The Aerie, suggested “that the genuine expression of your ideas is usually more valuable than attempts to make your ideas sound ‘creative.’” She added, “For me, I'd rather experience someone's true thoughts than experience something for the sake of drama.”

Those who work to make The Aerie come to life find the process enjoyable and rewarding. Schmidt said, “I enjoy working with the student co-editors, the reading panel, and the amazing Prof. Rachel Soo as we guide this project from start to finish.”

Rachel Soo, Chair of the Visual Arts Department, said that The Aerie allows her to “work with a student graphic designer one-on-one throughout the design process.” She added, “I also love seeing the art submissions from students, staff, faculty and alums. I enjoy working together with Prof. Kristen Schmidt. Each year we strive to make the publication better than the year before.”

Want to get inspired? Check out the 2022 edition of The Aerie. Soo noted “The artwork, ‘The Golden Spiral,’ by Andrew Shiroma '25, created in a mathematics class [p. 6, Aerie 2022 edition].” 

Sophomore Andrew Shiroma, who submitted “The Golden Spiral,” said, “My favorite and most rewarding part of making and submitting ‘The Golden Spiral’ to The Aerie was how each small piece came together amazingly.” He added, “Seeing my small artwork published in The Aerie with other wonderful pieces to form a cohesive whole was a great experience as well.”

Soo added, “We receive submissions from students from all majors and areas of study and are excited to see the art and literary works students submit this year.” Schmidt said, “The most rewarding part is seeing the finished publication.” All Concordia students are invited to submit their literary and art works to The Aerie to potentially become a part of the finished publication. 

If you are on the fence about submitting or looking for some feedback on your work, Skogerboe said, “Get down from there! You’ll fall and hurt yourself. And the chairs are more comfortable in the Writing Studio, besides.”

Literary and art submissions to the Aerie are due by Sat., Oct. 5, at midnight to concordia.aerie.lit@gmail.com for the literary submissions and concordia.aerie.art@gmail.com for art submissions.

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