By Jaida Dent
On Tuesday, March 11, the Stuck in the Library magazine at Brooklyn College hosted a publication event for their fall 2024 publication. The event allowed students to come together, receive copies of the new publication, meet students featured in it, and enjoy an “Open Mic” with their peers.
“Stuck in the Library” is a literary magazine club on campus, which allows students and alumni to submit creative works to be published each semester. The club accepts poetry, prose, fiction, art, and photography to be in the final collections. The fall 2024 publication was centered around poetry, with a maximum of three submissions per person. While the club has many students who are involved in the English department, everyone is encouraged to submit despite their major.
“I wanted to branch out to other majors and other professions just so we could see all of the students and their work because they’re just so talented and it’s just a great space to be involved in,” said Angela Scire, the secretary and chief of publications for Stuck in the Library.
Even though the publication is from fall 2024, the event was held during the spring 2025 semester due to scheduling issues that occurred last semester. As a club, they stressed the importance for them to have these events so students can come together to see their published work, while also being celebrated amongst their peers.
“It’s just very exciting to see these students, their excitement and holding their paper, and they’re giving it to their families. It’s just really, really sweet […] We really wanted to hold an event for each publication just because we feel like it’s important to celebrate each of them instead of merging events together,” said Scire.
Having the opportunity to be published is valuable to students, especially for creatives. Zoe Davis, a creative writing major, was grateful for the opportunity to have published pieces that were vulnerable and personal to her. Davis’ original piece, “Love Letter to Yeshua”, depicts her struggles with mental health and her religious journey. The inclusion of this piece in the magazine meant a lot to Davis and allowed her to speak about her faith in a place where she felt like it was hard to do so.
“Stuck in the Library gave me the opportunity to see my work in a publication again, and it’s made me want to continue writing after a long time of feeling like I didn’t want to do that anymore […] They just really want us to express ourselves creatively and I’m touched that they put that in the publication, and I’m happy that it gets to be in something as cool as Stuck in the Library” said Davis.
In addition to celebrating the release of the new magazine, the event featured an “Open Mic” where students signed up to perform works featured in the magazine or new pieces they may have been workshopping for a class. Duly Rosenburg, a psychology major, was featured in this magazine, and also decided to perform her original music for the event.
“I sang a song that I wrote about my younger self because I find it really healing to send my love to her from where I am now. I love open mics and find them really inspiring for my own creativity as well,” said Rosenburg.
As the semester continues, the club is looking forward to new submissions for the next publication, as well as new members joining the team. Many of the e-board members are graduating this semester, and are looking to welcome in new students who will help ensure the longevity of the organization.
“I hope that people feel the urge to join this club since half of us are graduating on the e-board. There is the ability for the club to die if none of the e-board members get replacements,” said Scire. “I feel like it’s really important not to let this club die just because of how important it has been for me as a student here and how important I know that it has been for other members of the club.”
Students interested in joining Stuck in the Library can follow their Instagram: @stuckinthelibrary.