A joint publication between English majors and faculty, the journal embodies the interdisciplinary nature of the Department of English at Samford University. It provides a venue for all Samford students, faculty, and staff to publish their best critical and creative work.
Literature and film continually reimagine an ever-changing world, and through our research we discover our relationships to those art forms and the cultures they manifest. Publishing one issue each semester, Wide Angle serves as a conduit for the expression and critique of that imagination. A joint publication between English majors and faculty, the journal embodies the interdisciplinary nature of the Department of English at Samford University. It provides a venue for undergraduate research, an opportunity for English majors to gain experience in the business of editing and publishing, and a forum for all students, faculty, and staff to publish their best work. As a wide-angle lens captures a broad field of vision, this journal expands its focus to include critical and creative works, namely academic essays, book and film reviews, and commentaries, as well as original poetry, short fiction and non-fiction, short films, and screenplays.
Current Issue
Literature
Sydney Berry
“Colonizing Neverland: Mothers of the British Empire in J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan”
Bailey Bridgeman
“Logic Un-Donne: Syllogism, Seduction, and Social Strife in ‘The Flea’ and ‘To His Coy Mistress’”
Bridget Rose
“Gender Identity in The Passion of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity”
Film
Katie-Bryn Hubbard
“Go Wes, Young Man: Masculine Relationships in Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket and The Darjeeling Limited”
“Spotlight on Filmmaking: Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight and the Search for Truth”
Jared Skinner
“Bullhead and the Cognitive Weight of Gender”
Creative Writing
Isabel Azar
“The Marriage of Ned Kynaston”
David Beutel
“Dinnertime in Buenos Aires”
Zoe Cruz
“First Abortion”
Claire Davis
“A Light in the Penumbra”
Jillian Fantin
“Eulogy for Every Misplaced Handkerchief, or Desdemona’s Last Will and Testament”
Lynette Sandley
“Leader of the Izoro Sheep”
Jared Skinner
“Glastonbury Grove: A Tribute to David Lynch”
Julie Steward, Ph.D.
“Chicago”
From the Editors’ Desks - Special Series: Digital Humanities
Ben Crabtree
“THIS is Cinema”
Casey Cunningham
“Reading Wide Angle from a Distance”
Regan Green
“Mutter, She Wrote: Subverted Gender Ideals in Flannery O’Connor’s Short Stories”
Lauren Morris
“Audiobooks as Adaptations: How the Audiobook and Text of Martha Hall Kelly’s Lilac Girls Fall Short”
Hannah Warrick
“God, Hell, and Other Damnations: Tracing Holden’s Neurosis Through His Language”
Emily Youree
“‘You’re in My Game Now’: Player Agency in The Stanley Parable”
Contributors
Isabel Azar
Isabel Azar will graduate from Samford with a double major in English and Theatre. For more of her work, visit her blog, Frivolities and Fancies from My Lead-Smudged Left Hand.
Sydney Berry
Sydney Berry is a senior English major from Memphis, TN. In her spare time, she imagines worlds and people and attempts to make them into literature.
David Beutel
David Beutel is a senior University Fellow majoring in History, Spanish, and Global Studies. He is from Calhoun, Georgia, and likes to travel.
Bailey Bridgeman
Bailey Bridgeman is a senior from Dallas, Texas. She is a University Fellow and is studying English and Classics. After graduation, she plans to teach Latin in Dallas.
Zoe Cruz
Zoe Cruz is a junior English major in the Creative Writing concentration with a minor in Psychology. She is the secretary of the University Fellows Leadership Council and is a member of the Howard Scholars program. After graduation, Zoe will pursue a career in education teaching middle school English. Her favorite writers are John Steinbeck and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Claire Davis
Claire Davis is a junior University Fellow from Birmingham, AL, studying English and Classics. Besides writing essays and short stories, she also produces a podcast through the Samford Traditions and Oral History Recording Initiative.
Jillian A. Fantin
Jillian A. Fantin is a sophomore University Fellow majoring in English and Political Science, who, when not writing, enjoys activism, David Bowie, thrifting Hawaiian shirts, and playing the ukulele and (soon!) the autoharp.
Katie-Bryn Hubbard
Katie-Bryn Hubbard is a senior University Fellow majoring in English with a concentration in Film Studies and is the president of the Film Club. She will graduate this spring with an English degree and high hopes of following in the footsteps of her film hero, Roderick Jaynes, to become a film editor.
Bridget Rose
Bridget Rose is the Director of the Academic Success Center at Samford University and an Assistant Professor in the Core Curriculum. Her essay on St. Perpetua is part of a larger scholarly interest in early Christian saints and martyrs.
Lynette Moore Sandley
Lynette Moore Sandley is an Assistant Professor of English/Core and has been a faculty member at Samford since 1997. Her poems have been published in Voices International and Vidal’s Quarterly. She and Don Sandley adapted Georges Feydeau’s classic farce A Flea in Her Ear re-set in New Orleans and produced by Samford in 1999.
Jared Skinner
Jared Skinner is a junior History major and committed cinephile. He and his brother create odd, thought-provoking material for a short film account entitled “Skinner Brothers Films” on YouTube.
Dr. Julie Steward
Dr. Julie Steward is Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at Samford University. Her poetry has appeared in The Kennesaw Review, The Midwest Quarterly, and elsewhere. Most recently, she was invited to read her poetry in Las Vegas, NV, at the annual conference of the Far West Popular Culture Association.
Guidelines
Submissions will be accepted from all Samford students, faculty, and staff. Publication of any and all submissions is up to the discretion of the Wide Angle editorial staff. Upon acceptance of submission, the contributor will be required to sign a copyright waiver prior to publication. All written submissions must follow current MLA style guidelines and be free of any grammatical errors. All submissions must be anonymous.
Critical Essays
Ranging from 2,500-9,000 words, essays can be written within any critical framework as long as they are grounded in a literary or cinematic subject. The manuscript must be accompanied by an abstract.
Reviews and Commentaries
- Reviews of recently released novels, short stories, poetry collections, scholarly works, and anthologies. Reviews should be around 1,000 words.
- Commentaries on recent literature- related events (poetry readings, poetry competitions, plays, author readings, conferences, lectures) or other topics in print culture. Commentaries should be around 1000 words.
- Reviews of recently released films, DVDs/BluRays, and scholarly works pertaining to cinema. Reviews should be around 1,000 words.
- Commentaries on such subjects as: local film-related events/topics (Sidewalk and Snapshot film festivals, repertory and independent screenings at The Alabama Theater and The Edge, etc), national/international film-related events (the Academy Awards, Sundance and Cannes film festivals, conferences, etc.) or other topics in film culture. Commentaries should be around 1,000 words.
Short Film
- Short films must be original and should not exceed 10 minutes in length.
- Short films should be submitted as .mov or as another format compressed into a .zip file.
Poetry
- Submissions may consist of one to three poems.
- All poems must be contained in one Word document. Each poem must be formatted on its own page with a title for each poem. Include explanatory or contextualizing comments if necessary.
Prose
- Prose may be short fiction or creative non-fiction.
- Submissions should not exceed thirty pages.
Screenplays
Submissions should be no shorter than ten pages and no longer than ninety pages.
Staff
Lauren Morris - Managing Editor
Lauren Morris has worked on Wide Angle's staff as Managing Editor for two years. After she graduates, she will move to Philadelphia to teach middle school English with Teach For America.
Casey Cunningham - Assistant Managing Editor
Casey Cunningham is a senior University Fellow from Greenville, SC. An English and Spanish double major, this is her second year on the Wide Angle staff. Unlike many English majors, Casey prefers coffee to tea, and she does not have a favorite book.
Emily Youree - Literature Editor
Emily Youree is a junior University Fellow from Madison, AL, studying English, Classics, and Business. When not studying, she (still) enjoys reading Charlotte Bronte and C.S. Lewis, drinking tea, and wishing she were in England.
Benjamin Crabtree - Film Editor
Benjamin Crabtree is a Samford Presidential Scholar and senior English major with a concentration in Film Studies. In addition to his time as Wide Angle Film Editor, he serves as Vice President of the Samford Film Club. He enjoys watching films with his friends, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and studying Film History, particularly the French New Wave and American independent cinema.
Regan Green - Co-Creative Writing Editor
Regan Green is a junior English major with a concentration in Creative Writing. She has been named to the Dean’s List each semester at Samford. She published a short story in Steel Toe Review last year. She enjoys southern gothic literature and existential philosophy.
Hannah Warrick - Co-Creative Writing Editor
Hannah Warrick is a University Fellow and a junior English major with a concentration in Creative Writing. She has been named to the Dean’s List each semester she has been at Samford. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in editing and publishing as well as illustrating children’s literature.
Dr. Geoffrey A. Wright - General Editor
In addition to serving as the General Editor and faculty sponsor for Wide Angle, Dr. Wright directs the Film Studies Concentration in the English Major. He also serves as faculty sponsor for the SU Film Club.
