Longtime literary editor Cora Jacobs, the only Mexican-American faculty member in the English and Creative Writing Department, is leaving the college at the end of the month.
Jacobs, who worked 15 years as managing editor for the department’s publications, including three years at the top of Allium, was laid off during the latest round of staff cuts.
During her time at Columbia, Jacobs was managing editor of the Columbia Poetry Review, Court Green and Hair Trigger. She had been managing editor of Allium since its creation three years ago.
“My fondest memories have all been alike: The new magazine arrives at Columbia and the editor and I nervously (or maybe it was just I that was nervous) hold a fresh copy, glance through the pages, read a poem or excerpt, feel the luxury of photo paper between signatures, admire the beauty of the cover, and congratulate each other on a job well done,” she said. “I’ll miss that the most.”
Jeanne Petrolle, interim Chair of English and Creative Writing, told the Chronicle in an email that the department will re-distribute the work of the managing editor.
“Many more full-time faculty have agreed to step up and help produce Allium, as it is important to all of us,” said Petrolle, an associate professor. “We have not yet named a new managing editor.”
She said she hopes to name someone to the position by Aug.15.
The role of the managing editor within a literary magazine includes being responsible for the day-to-day operations of a publication. This includes overseeing writers, editors and other production personnel. For Allium, the managing editor also works closely with an editorial assistant, a year-long appointment reserved for MFA graduate students within Creative Writing.
The magazine and editorial assistant position are funded by the Efroymson Family Fund.
The editorial assistant for 2023-2024 is Abby Schneider. Schneider has worked at three different newspapers in the editorial and production departments and said the editorial assistant position is “an experience I’ve wanted for a long time.”
In the role, she will be reading submissions for Allium, joining weekly editorial meetings and managing the social media accounts for Allium.
When asked what made her interested in the apprenticeship, she cited the Allium editing classes.
“We read 10-15 submissions weekly for Allium and rated the submissions. In class, we discussed the submissions in depth and made a class decision on whether to take a submission or not,” she said. “Ann Hemenway led the class in an informative and productive discussion, and we learned how to decipher which writing could be edited to work for Allium and which ones were not a fit.”
The Allium classes are electives within the creative writing program. The editing classes take place during the Spring semester and are separated into three classes based on genres — fiction, nonfiction and poetry. This is then followed by the production class during the fall semester where students copy edit and proofread the work accepted from the spring class.
Jake Demcisak, a senior creative writing major, said the classes are important for all writers.
“In my opinion editorial work is a field that is hard to teach in the abstract,” he said. “Very few writers are going to find book deals out the gates, so having an insight into the process and the possibility of working in the field more is great.”
For Jacobs, she would like to see “Allium work more with other departments, expand its genres to include photography in its print issue and to bring on board a photography editor.”
“When copies of a newly printed issue arrive, it’s a joyous feeling,” she said. “The long hours of proofing, and proofing again, working with students committed to producing a journal of excellence, knowing that their commitment will take them far ahead of most trying to enter the publishing world is exactly what I’ll miss most from teaching production.”
Jacobs also taught at Columbia as a part-time instructor. She said she was not offered any classes to teach and will leave the college.
“I’d like to continue to remain active within the literary publishing community, collaborate with friends on projects, and keep in touch with those whose counsel has influenced my meaningful career, “ Jacobs said.
