Carousel Rides Again

By Stacey Curry Gunn

U of G's Carousel journal has come back from the verge of extinction to deliver to the world its 13th issue of poetry, short fiction and visual artwork.

After a three-year publishing hiatus, the new volume made its debut Dec. 2 with a reading at The Bookshelf in downtown Guelph. The publication features the work of some 40 artists spread over 150 pages and will be distributed to booksellers and libraries across Canada in January.

Included in the journal is the short story Reverse Wedding March by Prof. Stephen Henighan, Languages and Literatures, and I've Got a Hankering by English MA graduate Michelle Berry.

The journal invites submissions of unpublished Canadian works, with seasoned artists such as Michael Redhill and Tim Taylor, who were both nominated for the Giller Prize and Governor General's Award this year, appearing alongside emerging talent.

Carousel 13 was co-edited by Lisa Schincariol, a sessional lecturer in the School of Literatures and Performance Studies in English, and Robin Elliott, who completed her BA in English earlier this year. They and a dedicated group of undergraduate and graduate student volunteers spent a year bringing the issue to fruition.

"It's exhilarating and gratifying" to see the book published, Schincariol says. "It's created a training ground for students in all facets of the bookmaking process, and it represents the University well because we can lay claim to a publication of such quality."

Three of the student volunteers for Carousel 13 - Rachel Freedman, Sarah Simpson and Erin Wallace - have stepped up to manage the next issue of the journal. Work is under way on Carousel 14, with the goal of a spring launch.

The student-run Carousel Club published the journal annually from 1986 (it started as a photocopied, stapled manuscript) to 1998, when volunteer support temporarily died off. Mark Stephen, who has since graduated with an MA in English, resurrected the concept in the fall of 2000 as the Central Student Association debated what to do with the club's old files and publications.

After the production of issue 13 began, the club put forward a successful referendum request for increased student funding, which will help ensure the journal's continued development.