iliad Student Showcase
Left: LIGHT READING: A copy of the 2022 iliad magazine “Astraeus” sits on the counter of Hendershot’s, a local café and bar owned by Clarke Central High School sophomore and iliad Social Media Coordinator Ollie Hendershot’s family. Ollie Hendershot has been designing more for the iliad this year and was given the opportunity to create promotional content for the iliad Student Showcase. “This event is giving me a lot of opportunities (to) design and to be more involved in the iliad, so I’m really excited to see everything the team (has) been working on come together,” Hendershot said. Photo by Ollie Hendershot
Right: The poster for the iliad Student Showcase is shown. Poster design by Ollie Hendershot
iliad Student Showcase
On Dec. 13, the iliad Literary-Art Magazine will be hosting the first iliad Student Showcase at Hendershot’s on Tuesday, December 13 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The iliad Editorial Board spends the majority of our school year compiling our annual literary-art magazine. Often, we are so focused on the next magazine that we overlook the opportunity to celebrate the students whose creativity contributed to the previous year’s magazine. In addition, we don’t have many opportunities to interact in-person with our patrons. However, that will all change this year at the first ever iliad Student Showcase, which will highlight the creativity of our students for our community.
Above: CREATIVE GROWTH: Clarke Central High School senior Antonio Starks presents his poetry during the 2019 Creative Writing Celebration. Starks has found joy in sharing his creative writing and was grateful to have been selected to perform his poem for the iliad Student Showcase. “I really like showing what my mind is capable of,” Starks said. “I am proud of what I made and I love writing creatively, so it's such a blessing to be able to share this with people.” Photo by Luna Reichert
In previous years, the iliad Editorial Board has hosted a celebration at Clarke Central High School called the Creative Writing Celebration to highlight the students who’ve submitted to the magazine. This year, we’ve decided to remix the event by combining a student showcase and iliad fundraiser at Hendershot’s, a local café and bar. Our goal is to celebrate and showcase those who have been published in the magazine and the event will feature a selection of written and musical performances by CCHS students.
The iliad is funded entirely by donations from members of the community and we wouldn’t be able to print our annual magazine without the generous contributions of our patrons. Since 2020, the price of printing has increased several times, and the cost of printing in color is an added expense. We aim to print our magazine in color to honor the artists who’ve contributed beautiful and vibrant works of art that reflect their creativity. But to do that, the iliad literary-art magazine needs the support of patrons to raise the necessary funds for our magazine.
Above: OUR STAFF: (From left to right ) iliad Managing Editor Ethan Caspary Poucher, Social Media Coordinator Ollie Hendershot, Business Manager Cate DeMaria, Editor-in-Chief Kaija Gilbertson Hall, Design Editor Olivia Daniel, Writing Director Maya Shrivastav, and Outreach Director Salai Diekumpuna stand in front of the ODYSSEY and iliad trophy case. Gilbertson Hall has worked hard to create the iliad Student Showcase with other members of the iliad Editorial Board and can’t wait for the program to come to life. “Our entire team is buzzing with excitement about the upcoming event. We are so thankful to Hendershot’s for collaborating with us to help promote student creativity and inform people about the iliad and how to support our mission,” Gilbertson Hall said.
Photo by Janie Ripps
We have decided to make the event free of charge so any member of the community can come and celebrate the creativity of our students. With that being said, we will also have the opportunity for attendees to donate to our publication. Becoming an iliad patron helps us achieve our mission of supporting students, but it can also benefit you! All patrons are mentioned in the Patron Page of our magazine, complimentary copies of the iliad are sent to all patrons when we print, and they are invited to all iliad events, including student showcases and visits from authors and artists.
Our staff is thrilled to be collaborating with Hendershot’s to highlight our talented student body and we hope to see you there on Tuesday, December 13 at 7 p.m.
Story by Salai Diekumpuna