The Kaleidoscope Journal of Art and Literature is a Spoon River College student publication featuring short stories, poems, essays, song lyrics, photography and fine art. It is published each spring and distributed throughout the SRC district.
Kaleidoscope History: In 1983 under the direction of communication instructor Bob Gorg, Student Editor Jerry Swank, and incoming editor David Pires, the Spoon River College Student Senate sponsored a literary publication under the title
Collegiate. This first publication was to be a semester project, taking place each semester under new student leadership. After the second year, this changed to a yearly publication.
The
Collegiate was filled with stories, poetry, essays and public commentary in the first year but, beginning in the second year, included pen and ink sketches. It was originally an in-house publication, but is now sent out for professional printing and binding. It initially had a strictly literary focus, then added visual arts and became the
Kaleidoscope in 1996 with a nearly endless range of formats, appearances, sizes, bindings, and general orientations.
What remains the same: the
Kaleidoscope is a student-run publication. Advisors guide the student editing staff in decision-making, but the students run the magazine. The
Kaleidoscope editor has the final word on all design decisions, with input from an assistant editor and the advisors. The
Kaleidoscope, now the
Kaleidoscope Journal of Art and Literature, continues its mission to publish fine works of literature and visual arts by students, faculty, employees and friends of Spoon River College. The
Kaleidoscope is distributed each spring on the day of the popular “Coffee Spoon” event, an annual celebration of the arts that was born as a
Kaleidoscope spin off.
