The Kudzu Review hosts fundraiser to celebrate Issue No. 70
By Olivia Brooks
Many students on Florida State University’s campus have stories to tell. Literary journals especially offer platforms to help spread the craft of writing.
The Kudzu Review, the English department’s undergraduate literary journal, is soon publishing its 70th issue, and the staff is celebrating by hosting a read aloud event. The in-person event is April 24 at the Oyster City Brewing Company and will include live music, a bake sale, and an open mic to hear the beautiful stories crafted in the issue.
Bridget Adams, a doctoral candidate in English-Creative Writing-Fiction, is the journal’s faculty advisor, and she finds inspiration and knowledge through the process that writers, poets, artists, musicians, editors, and volunteers go through to produce the journal.
“The Kudzu Review has grown in so many ways in the past year, all thanks to the hard work of our volunteers, submitters, section editors, and our editor-in-chief, Maddie Paskow,” Adams says. “We have received more submissions than ever before, and we are so fortunate to be a space for the exciting and singular work of FSU undergraduates, both in literary and visual art.”
The journal is a student-run operation funded exclusively through fundraisers.
Paskow says she is also pleased with how much Kudzu has grown during her time as editor. She points out that for Issue No. 70, the journal “received a remarkable number of submissions—nearly 300.”
“This was both exciting and daunting,” Paskow adds. “The editors and editorial assistants took it in stride, read every submission, and provided feedback for early [submissions].”
Paskow says the journal met and exceeded its fundraising goals for the academic year, meaning the journal can continue to publish print issues. Other highlights for Kudzu include the staff’s design of limited-edition Kudzu T-shirts—the first time the journal has offered them— which are for sale for $15.
Those shirts are available thanks to fundraising in the fall and generous donations the journal received from English department faculty such as Associate Professor Skip Horack and Professor David Kirby, among others.
“Our open mic fundraisers have been a blast and another area that showcases the talents of our volunteers,” Paskow says. “We also had a fantastic guest speaker event with [FSU English alumna] Dyan Neary, organized by our faculty advisor, Bridget Adams. There are lots of exciting things happening at The Kudzu Review, and more to come.”
Paskow says these accomplishments have been rewarding to reflect on and to boost her confidence as she graduates from FSU at the end of the spring semester. She will move on to pursue her Master of Fine Arts in non-fiction at Rutgers University-Camden.
Adams agrees that the journal will continue to grow, as students’ creativity continues to prosper and they submit their work each year.
Join the live event on April 24, from 7-9 p.m., as the Kudzu staff gathers for this last read aloud event of the semester to celebrate the publication of Issue 70.
If you are unable to attend the event, consider donating with this link to PayPal.
Olivia Brooks is an English major on the editing, writing, and media track, with a minor in communication.
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