THE COPPER QUILL
The Literary Magazine of HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College
Welcome to The Copper Quill, the first fully online literary magazine for HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College! Founded in 2021, The Copper Quill features work from talented students across all 5 HACC campuses. We publish art, photography, poetry, short works of prose (fiction and nonfiction), and reviews. See our submission guidelines above, and don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
43rd Wildwood Writers' Festival
In case you missed the 43rd Wildwood Writers' Festival on March 21st, 2024, we've put together a YouTube playlist of recordings from the Zoom event! Click here to view the readings from this year's esteemed writers, Margarita Pintado Burgos, Eliot White, Paul Hood, Jannelle Sykes (a former HACC student!), Pat Hanahoe-Dosch (a retired HACC professor!), Gris Muñoz, and Jamie Beth Cohen.
April: National Poetry Month
April is known as National Poetry Month! To honor this beloved art form, the staff here at The Copper Quill have (belatedly) compiled a few of our favorite poems. These poets come from across the world and include works in multiple languages. Please find them below:
Refaat Alareer (1979-2023) was a writer, poet, professor and activist from Palestine. Alareer earned his BA in English from the Islamic University of Gaza in 2001, his MA from the College of London in 2007 , and his Ph.D. in English Literature from the Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2017. He also returned to the Islamic University of Gaza to teach as a professor. Many of Alareer's poems and essays focused on the current occupation and hope for liberation of Palestine, and more specifically, the Gaza Strip. Alareer was assassinated on December 6th, 2023 by Israeli airstrikes upon his sister's apartment. He had moved there after sheltering at a UNRWA school and receiving a call that revealed his location alongside threats of violence. April 24th, 2024 marks the two-hundredth day of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. "If I Must Die" was Alareer's last poem written.
Jessica Greenbaum (1957-) is the author of Inventing Difficulty, The Two Yvonnes, and Spilled and Gone. She has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Poetry Society of America. She currently lives and teaches in New York City.
Federico García Lorca (1898-1936) was a prominent Spanish poet, playwright, and theater director. Lorca moved to Madrid in 1919 and met with a group of avant-garde artists. This group, including Salvador Dalí, introduced him to Surrealism, a movement that would reshape his writing forever. He initially rose to fame with his book, a collection of poems, called "Romancero gitano" (Gypsy Ballads, 1928). He continued to publish poems, eventually expanding his influence to theater. He published hia own plays, including Bodas de sangre (Blood Wedding, 1933) and cofounded the traveling theater company, La Barraca. Lorca's plays and poems became a controversial, outspoken voice during the Spanish Civil War for gay desire and political revolution. Lorca was arrested in his home in August, 1936, and was later assassinated by the Nationalist Faction.
Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) was a renowned Chilean poet-diplomat and politician. Travelling around the world, and becoming friends with other famous poets, such as Lorca, Neruda was employed on the behalf of Chile as a diplomat, visiting Spain during their civil war, Mexico City, and Peru. He later involved himself in Chilean politics, elected as a Communist Senator in 1945. He would remain outspoken, until a controversial speech in 1948, calling out corruption in the government, would lead to a warrant for his arrest. Neruda was on the run in Chile for thirteen months, until his 3 year exile from the country. He returned in 1952 to the government in shambles, weakened by many scandals. Neruda returned to politics with his support of the popular Socialist Party and their presidential candidate, Salvador Allende. Neruda was pardoned and was free to travel to and from the country, which he proceeded to do, writing over three thousand poems in his lifetime. He was nominated for Chilean presidency in 1970, but gave his support to Allende, who ended up winning. He later won the Nobel prize in 1971. Neruda eventually passed away in 1973 due to heart failure.
Mary Oliver (1935-2019) was well known for her countless poems about the natural world. She began writing at age fourteen, and was later the the recipient of the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize. In 2007, she was declared by The New York Times to be America's best selling poet. She lived with her late partner Molly Malone Cook until 2005, where she then relocated to Florida until she passed away due to lymphoma in 2019.
Welcome Back!
We're excited to share the Late Spring issue of The Copper Quill with you. We hope you enjoy our selection of poetry and photography.
Open/Feature Poetry Readings in Central PA!
Harrisburg
Blacklisted Poets of Harrisburg open readings every Thursday night, 8pm-10pm (or thereabouts). Held at HMAC, 1110 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg, (717) 480-2942; justannajane@gmail.com.
Nathaniel Gadsden's Writers Workshop – most of their readings are now held virtually.
Lancaster/York
A Concrete Rose bookbar has a great open mic night every Wednesday from 7-9pm. It's always a full house, usually SRO, and it's a supportive and affirming space for poets. Follow A Concrete Rose on Instagram to stay up-to-date on additional workshops and open mic-type events!
House of Poetry events are held every 3rd Monday of the month with a vibrant open mic. Young poets should follow @nobodys_pen on Instagram to keep up to date on what they're doing. They have plans going through May and June so far, and they're looking at doing a lot of work this summer. Sean Hogan's page also shares all of these events.
Columbia Kettle Works has an open mic every other Tuesday in Columbia.
Parliament Arts in York occasionally sponsors events.
Read Rose Books, 23 N. Prince St., Lancaster, on FB and @readrosebooks on Instagram. Check website or social media for details
Gettysburg
Ragged Edge Coffee House holds readings on the first Friday of each month. Check first for details. 110 Chambersburg St., (717) 334-4464.
Hanover
Call for Creative Nonfiction
We are very interested in creative non-fiction pieces, especially those that deal with the realities facing HACC students; those realities include dealing with financial aid, working, emotional and psychological challenges, and social justice issues such as racism or climate change. Pieces should be 2,000 words or less.
NaNoWriMo
FROM THE ADVISOR’S DESK: November is National Novel Writing Month, where writers are encouraged to write 50,000 words in 30 days. We at The Copper Quill would like to invite the novelists in our HACC community to consider submitting a chapter, or excerpt of up to 5,000 words for consideration. We are also hoping that the students in Professor Girardi’s English 114 class, Introduction to Novel Writing, will send us some of their work in the Spring after they’ve completed that great journey. Write On!
-Rick Kearns
Faculty Advisor
Meet: Geri Gutwein
Check out our most recent interview, featuring the gifted writer and former HACC professor, Geri Gutwein!