ABOUT

WHO WE ARE

Spires is the student-run, student-organized, and student-designed art and literary magazine out of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Every year, a new Editor in Chief steps up to take the reins of the magazine, bringing a new  flavor and energy to the publication. On some of the electronic editions of the magazine, we’ve included a brief statement by the editor of that year,  to give a bit of a Spires retrospective.

WHAT WE DO

Throughout the Fall and into the Spring semester, we collect prose, poetry, and art from the student body. Mid-Spring Semester, usually in February, we hold meetings to cull through the submissions and put together the magazine. Each year, this selection committee changes based on the naturally rotating nature of the student population as well as general interest of individuals, which also, in addition to the spirit of the Editor in Chief, contributes to the shifting feel of Spires from year to year. I don’t know about anyone else, but I certainly enjoy this aspect of the publication’s history.

THE LEGACY

In 2001, Sarah Knowles conspired with her fellow editors to change the name of the current literary magazine, Kaleidoscope, and with it the overall feel. Determined to produce a more professional quality magazine, they moved forward in changing the name to Spires, inspired by North Adams, the home of MCLA and the city of spires, and worked towards accepting works they saw as the best examples of the talent, craft, and commitment of the undergraduate student body. As the printing process became more economically feasible, changes were made in the magazine, such as incorporating color under Alison McGonagle’s tenure in 2005, the first color cover in 2011 under Halley Eacker, or turning to a flat bind and larger size under Alex Marshall and Katelynn Larson in 2012. Each change echoes as a challenge to the next editors to make the best possible publication; a challenge that has, to my recollection, consistently been met and, on occasion, exceeded.