Mindscape

Mindscape is the title of the University of Winnipeg Collegiate’s literary journal, which is created by the Mindscape committee. Committee members - fondly known as Mindscapers - take in creative work submitted by students and turn it into a published journal for everyone to take home. Submissions include both written and artistic pieces, ranging from stories, plays, and poems to paintings, sketches, and photographs.

There are many special things to be said about the club and the students who participate in it. Of course, the best way to convey the magic of a Mindscape meeting is to invite you to one. So, dear Reader: welcome to Mindscape.

A typical meeting starts at 11:30, the beginning of lunch period. Students filter into the room toting backpacks and lunches and find a place to sit. Looking around the room (Mindscapers always arrange the desks in a circle so everyone is seen and heard equally), you find yourself surrounded by a mosaic of faces and personalities. To your left is a student who has been home-schooled until Grade Ten; to your right is a student visiting from Hong Kong. Across from you sits a girl who grew up in the country and still visits her family&rsqul;s farm; the boy beside her has never left the city of Winnipeg. Each person has a unique voice and outlook on life that will add new dimensions to the discussion and shine in his or her own written works.

Mindscape accepts work from all students and strives for diverse perspectives. Many pieces by exchange students have been published in the journal, including writing in French and Spanish. Even though students come from different backgrounds, everyone shares the same love of literature.

As students arrive, Phyllis Webster, the instructor who runs Mindscape, hands out written works to volunteer readers. Authors may choose to read their works aloud or to have another student read it, if they would like to hear it in a different voice. Authors also have the option of remaining anonymous.

Mindscapers get lots of practice reading out loud in front of the class. Not only does this help students build confidence towards public speaking, but it allows writers to hear their works in a different voice - an important editing tool for any author.

After each reading Mindscapers discuss the writing as a group, sharing the things they liked about the story and ideas that could help take the writing to the next level. It is incredible to hear students’ connecting deeply to a story or poem, created by someone from their classes whom they did not realize was a writer until then. Mindscape has a habit of bringing out the artist in people.

Mindscape gives students the opportunity to receive feedback on their writing in a fun and respectful environment. Members usually submit pieces of their own through the year, and thus treat others’ works as they wish their own work to be treated. By listening to respectful critiques, students gain confidence about the strengths in their writing and learn how to use others’ advice to good effect.

At the end of the meeting, each student votes by writing a plus sign on the text to support its inclusion in Mindscape, or a minus sign to indicate that the piece should not be included. Each committee member - including the teachers - only receives one vote. Votes are tallied by Mrs. Webster after the meeting and the authors of accepted works are privately informed. If an author wishes to edit her work and resubmit it, Mindscapers are happy to read it through again.

At the end of the year the look of the journal is decided upon. Students choose the font, layout, and order of the pieces, and a contest is held to select the cover. Mindscapers also develop a theme to connect the submissions together. The 2007 edition was based on the stages of life: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and later life.

I see that students are beginning to file out of the room. We have reached the end of the meeting, Reader, but do not worry - Mindscape celebrated its 20th anniversary this year and continues to run into 2008 and beyond. Over the years, Mindscape has provided hundreds of students with a way to meet and talk with other people who share their passion for literature. Of course, this is not possible without the students. Every year, without fail, the people who make up Mindscape prove themselves to be talented, unique, and accepting individuals. It is the students: the editors, the writers, the artists, and the readers who make Mindscape what it is.

The committee of 2007-2008 sincerely hopes you enjoy the art and writing of the University of Winnipeg Collegiate. For more creative work by students, please see the 20th anniversary edition of Mindscape, in print April 2008. We welcome you into our Mindscape family.