In 1967, Emeritus Professor Dr. Velma F. Grant formed the Pierian Student Organization for English majors.  Since that time, The Pierian has grown to accept and publish works of poetry, short fiction, personal essays and drama from some of the nation’s leading poets and writers such as Amiri Baraka, Frank X Walker, Hoke Glover, Lita Hooper, Mariahdessa Ekere Tallie, DaMaris Hill, David Mills, Jerry Ward and Eugene Redmond to name a few.  This year, The Pierian celebrates 50 years of circulation with a special issue on the many enterprising and empowering women of color whose contributions in the fields of art, music, literature, politics, history and sociology have been instrumental in our exploration and understanding of American society and the world. 

The Pierian Journal is currently accepting submissions for its Fall 2017 edition.  The theme for this year, “Dream’s Giddy Sound: Women and Their Role in Building a Nation,” celebrates Gwendolyn Brooks’ 100th birthday and is borrowed from her signature poem, “kitchenette building.”  The journal accepts unpublished poems (up to 3), short stories (under 5,000 words), one-act plays, and personal essays (under 5,000 words) that explore the literary, artistic and cultural expressions of the African Diaspora. 

 We are especially interested in submissions that celebrate:

 Gwendolyn Brooks                                        Women jazz and blues singers

Dr. Maya Angelou                                         Southern women writers, artists and activists  

Black women poets and writers                      Afro-Caribbean women and culture

Women of the Harlem Renaissance                 Native American women and culture

Women of the Black Arts Movement                Afro-European women and culture

Women and cultural identities                        African women writers, artists and cultural figures

This year’s featured Guest Editor is Dr. DaMaris Hill, Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, English and African American Studies at the University of Kentucky.  She is the author of The Fluid Boundaries of Suffrage and Jim Crow: Staking Claims in the American Heartland (2016) and Visible Textures (2015).  Her poetry has appeared in Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism; Reverie: Midwest African American Literature, Mourning Katrina: A Poetic Response to Tragedy, The Offing, American Studies and the Bermuda Anthology of Poetry.

 Authors should submit their work electronically to: thepierian@asurams.edu by the September 15, 2017 deadline.

 Note: The journal only accepts electronic submissions.  For additional information, please contact Dr. Jeffery D. Mack at (Jeffrey.mack@asurams.edu) or Dr. DaMaris Hill at (Damaris.hill@uky.edu)