Magazine: The Aurora Journal
The Aurora Journal publishes surrealistic poetry and prose. Inspired by the Aurora Borealis, we look for writing that is surreal, ethereal, and dreamy, and explores the dangerous limits of surrealism.
Talking with: Sophie Chiang, Editor-in-Chief
If you could sum up your magazine’s vibe in six words or less, what would they be?
Surreal, ethereal, dreamy, nonsensical
Editors notoriously don’t get paid much (if at all) and tend to take a lot of flack. So, why do it? Is there a moment you can remember in your time with your magazine where you thought: ‘this, this is why I do it’?
I was 15 when I started The Aurora Journal. At that age, of course, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I quickly realized that running a magazine was hard work– from soliciting submissions to writing rejection letters (which I swear takes years off my life every time I hit send) to combing through countless emails that withdrew poems accepted to other journals (this task still makes me shudder), there were countless tasks to juggle. Now, I’m 18, and I’ve spent the better half of my teenage years running a literary journal without getting paid a single cent. Yet, I’m still doing it, and to be honest, I don’t plan on giving it up anytime soon. The awesomeness of having a platform is that I can do trivial things from asking people about their favorite rejection letter on Twitter (and actually getting replies!) to getting people to come to the poetry workshops that I host to being able to reply to emails from elated submitters who were accepted. And let’s not forget about the sheer joy of reading all the mind-blowing submissions. There’s something magical about reading a piece of writing that really speaks to you, that resonates deep in your soul and leaves you craving it over and over again. And when I get to publish those pieces, it’s like sharing that magic with the world. It’s an incredible feeling.
So yeah, running a literary journal is hard work, and it definitely doesn’t come with a big paycheck. But who knows, maybe one day I’ll make enough money from it to buy myself a cup of coffee. (*cough cough.* donate on ko-fi!!)”
The lit mag scene is massive. What did you want to bring to the community with your magazines that is different from what others are offering?
Our journal focuses on the surreal, unreal, and dreamy. The pieces we publish aren’t always supposed to make sense, but they are absolutely intended to make you think. Each piece gives you just enough to piece together a few bits and pieces, but it allows some room for confusion (my favorite).
Is there a specific kind of project you haven’t seen in your current submissions that you’d love to see come in?
I would love a piece that plays with the concept of time. Time is one of the most metaphysical notions conceivable and yet it affects our everyday lives in so many tangible ways; I’d love to see the interplay between abstract and concrete. Poetry and prose offers a rich canvas for exploring the nature of time, and it sure would find a cozy home in The Aurora Journal!
Is there a part of the submissions process that writers tend to fret over that isn’t all that important?
Cover letters, haha! I don’t ask for them, but people send them in anyway. Often I don’t have time at all to read them. If they’re short, I’ll sometimes skim them.
If you could bring one writer back to life to write a story for your magazine, who would it be, and why?
I would love to have Hans Arp write a story for The Aurora Journal. He was a poet and artist who embodied surrealist writing. His poetry often explored the relationship between language, the subconscious mind, and the natural world. Arp was a pioneer of automatic writing, a method that involves writing without conscious thought or premeditation and allowing the subconscious to take over. This technique often leads to the kind of surreal writing I look for in my submissions inbox! Some of my favorite pieces from him are “The Air is a Root” and “What Violins Sing in Their Bed of Lard”. Arp’s writing would add a subversive and almost absurd edge to my journal, and I’m looking for just that.
What is a recent piece published in your magazine that you think would make a great short film?
Oh my gosh, definitely “machinal warmth” by Aileen Pujols. You can read it here. She beautifully describes being trapped in a winter of emotional isolation and apathy by contrasting it to scalding heat, which I would love to see interpreted visually. The use of sensory details, such as the hot tea and cold breeze, creates a palpable atmosphere that would translate brilliantly to a visual medium like film.
There are the well-worn (for good reason) pieces of advice like “read submissions guidelines” and “read the journal you’re submitting to,” but do you have any other advice for prospective writers looking to get their work published?
Understand the “vibe” of a journal and assess whether your writing hits what they’re looking for! Otherwise, you might be stuck thinking that your piece was “not good enough” when it just doesn’t belong in the particular journal’s “aesthetic”. I wish more people realized this, because it hurts to let go of beautiful poems and stories just because they are not quite surrealist.