Pallander hopes to get students from all majors involved, as she gears up to publish the 76th volume of the university’s literary and art journal.
For Carissa Pallander ’25, being appointed the editor-in-chief of the Colonnades Literary and Art Journal is truly a full circle moment.
Pallander had known about Colonnades since her first year and owned multiple copies of previous volumes. She first got involved with the production of the journal in her sophomore year after responding to a call for readers to judge which submissions should be included in the next volume.
As a junior, Pallander joined the executive team as design editor. While Pallander found the role stressful at times, it allowed her to work closely with the previous editor-in-chief, Kenna Dubraski ’25, and learn the ropes of the position before actually stepping into it this year.
Pallander also had one of her own pieces published in the journal for the first time during her junior year, and she learned it had been selected while she worked on the journal’s design in the library
“[My poem] was in the folder of pieces that I had to put into the document that I was designing, and I just had a mini ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe I made it into the journal’ moment,” Pallander said.
When she first submitted her piece Pallander said she didn’t think it would get published and joked that she doesn’t really get poetry.
Afterward, she discovered that the readers had voted unanimously to include her poem in the journal, a moment for which no other word except “crazy” seemed applicable, she said. That was also the first time Pallander had ever seen her writing in print.
“To see your work on paper, especially as a creative writing major who wants to be writing and who wants to have their stuff published in journals, is kind of beautiful,” Pallander said. “It felt like a full circle moment. This is a journal that I really respected and really liked being a part of, and now my work is in it forever.”
This year as editor-in-chief, Pallander is taking an unconventional approach to the production of “Colonnades” that she hopes will allow even more of the Elon community to experience that same feeling.
Typically, the theme of the journal is chosen before the piece selection process begins, but this year Pallander plans to let the pieces that are submitted guide the development of the theme.
“’Colonnades’ is something that is built off of community and giving a voice to the people who write those pieces” Pallander said. “I think letting [the students] decide the theme could be really interesting and fun.”
Pallander also hopes to get more students outside of creative writing and English involved in Colonnades this year.
“The students on this campus are so impressive,” Pallander said. “This is a journal that the whole school should enjoy, and I want to make it more open to other majors.”
With fresh new ideas and a true passion for the work she does with ‘Colonnades,’ Pallander is excited to step into her new role.
“I honestly don’t know what my Elon experience would be like without ‘Colonnades,’” Pallander said.