New literary magazine cooks up artistic mix

But don't look for any recipes - this magazine is a literary soup of short stories, poetry, drama, photography and art.

Andy Sense, the magazine's founder and president, said he wants the magazine to strengthen the creative relationship between students, faculty and the Tucson community.

"The Prose Kitchen attracts writers and artists not only from U of A, but from all areas of Tucson and from all occupations and perspectives," said Sense, a junior majoring in English.

Sense said he became interested in starting the magazine when he attended New York's Columbia University before transferring to the University of Arizona. He said he was further inspired by a former UA English Department magazine called The Miranda Station Review .

The Review was published a couple of years ago but has since been out of print, Sense said.

"The magazine had a lot of good writers, and I wanted to continue something like that again," Sense said.

J. Douglas Canfield, English Department professor and faculty adviser, saidThe Prose Kitchen is an asset to the university.

"I am in favor of having as many avenues for creative writing open as possible," he said.

Canfield said it is important for the magazine to be open to all types of creativity, not just short stories or poetry.

His magazine, Sense said, is different from Persona, another campus literary magazine.

"The Prose Kitchen is more experimental," he said. "For example, we are publishing dialogue from the script to a one-act play."

The Prose Kitchen will publish 1,000 copies of its first issue and will also be on the World Wide Web, Sense said.

Students from UA's graphic design program developed the layout for both versions, he added.

Sense said the magazine is a club recognized by Associated Students. Portions of the funding will go toward publishing costs, he said.

A reading and release party for the first issue will be held Feb. 5 at the Mat Bevel Institute, a local art gallery at 530 N. Stone Ave. The reading starts at 8 p.m.

The magazine will publish an issue once each semester, Sense said.

The Prose Kitchen accepts submissions at Prose Kitchen, P.O. Box 20582, 1303 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85719.