BY SOPHIE MAE Hey, this is Sophie Mae. I’m one of the art editors for Opus and a senior majoring in studio art. I’m going to share with you guys a bit about what I look for in pieces to put in Opus. I’ve gotten this question a lot in the last few weeks so […]
BY KATELYNN PALUCH On Imposter Syndrome, Creative Burnout, and Being the Only STEM Major Editor If you’re anything like me nowadays, you probably submitted to Opus less than 10 minutes before the deadline with an email apologizing for the horrible nature of your submissions. And, no, I’m not joking. In the email I sent this […]
BY KALLEN MOHR As one of the poetry editors for Opus, I thought it only fitting that I write about poetry for my first blog post, specifically my own journey with poetry. I am a strong believer in the power of writing (as cliché and overused as that statement is) and […]
BY KATIE SHANTZ I’m not sure if it’s the never-ending winter or the finish line of graduation on the horizon, but I’ve found myself to be quite stuck in my creative practice for the last month. Creative block is nothing new, and I think the first step in dealing with it is to realize how […]
By Emma Gail Compton I love books and I love stories, otherwise I wouldn’t be the Prose editor for OPUS. However, I HATE HATE HATE the summaries on the backs of books. Or even worse, on the inside of the front cover — which is truly a tragedy of epic proportions. Out of this hatred […]
BY KATIE SHANTZ I feel like my blog posts on here are always about art and I wanted to try to mix it up, so this blog post is partly inspired by an earlier post by the lovely Violet, but also my newly discovered love for set production. I’m a film and tv fanatic for […]
BY ADRIANA BARKER Hello everyone! I have to admit something: this was the first Opus blog post where I had no idea what I was going to write about. My earlier posts are soapboxes I was already fired up about and knew I was going to write, but after I exhausted my main topics, I […]
BY ZACHARY DANKERT I didn’t begin really revising and editing my work until a good year into my study of creative writing. Until that point, I don’t think it even crossed my mind that writers edited at all. I was of the “one-and-done” mindset, that once I typed the last word of a piece, suddenly […]
BY KATIE SHANTZ Being an art major and art enthusiast I’ve seen so many pieces of art… in textbooks. In my classes I’m constantly referencing pieces of work that I adore, but have never seen in person. This semester, though, I’ve actually been interning in New York City. As an artist this has been a […]
BY ADRIANA BARKER For my birthday this year my mother bought me the book How to be an Artist by Jerry Saltz. In the book, Saltz shares 63 things any artist should keep in mind. The advice ranges anywhere from “Start Now” and “Develop Forms of Practice” to “Be a Vampire, Form a Coven” and […]
BY VIOLET PESCHIERA I am a self-proclaimed rom-com lover. I was raised on my mother’s favorites of John Hughes and Nora Ephron films. It is something that has remained a constant in my life. This is one of genres where you tend to see female directors and writers. This is why it helped open my […]
BY ZACHARY DANKERT If you’re interested in submitting to Opus, or have previously submitted and plan to revise and resubmit, you might be wondering what exactly we look for, what specific aspects of the craft will get your piece into Hope’s literary and arts journal. I wish I could tell you exactly that, but it […]
BY MORGAN BROWN “Revise and resubmit.” We say this often at our meetings, when an art piece needs only minor tweaks, when a poem is just a few concrete images or capital letters away from acceptance. Sometimes the artists heed this call, and the poem reappears one or two semesters later with changes, whether slight […]
BY ZACHARY DANKERT It’s hard to believe that this semester is almost over with. In the midst of so many final projects and exams, I forgot several times this week of a very special event. And even when I remembered and marked it in my calendar, it was just an event, an obligation that might […]
BY MORGAN BROWN Sometimes when I close my eyes, I find myself in Ireland. Inchydoney Island, to be specific, a remote beach on the west coast of the country. When I studied abroad in Dublin last semester (which, funnily enough, proved to be not the best time to go – thanks Covid), the writers program […]
BY ADRIANA BARKER Hello everyone! I’m writing this today to tell you all how to make my job a lot harder. I want all of you to get work into Opus, but the sad truth of it is, not everyone’s work makes it into the magazine. But I want you to have the best shot […]
BY ADRIANA BARKER Have you ever felt like the criteria for getting a piece into Opus is elusive and mysterious? Maybe you’ve been frustrated with a poem you thought deserved publication, or you just didn’t understand the notes you got on it. Well, I’m here to help! In this post, I’ll share with you a […]
BY MORGAN BROWN Here at Opus, our purpose is to show you off. You, the students of Hope College, make this journal what it is. For those who have submitted this semester: thank you. We love going over your work. You impress us, and it is my solemn wish that we could publish every single […]
