World Literature Today Magazine to Launch Art-Inspired 400th Issue
The May/June issue of World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma’s award-winning magazine of international literature and culture, will celebrate the magazine’s 400th issue. The edition, which will feature writers and visual artists, will be launched in Oklahoma City’s Paseo Arts District’s Studio Six, from 6-8 p.m., Friday, May 6.
The cover feature, “Muses,” showcases the work of writers, visual artists and their inspirations. The issue will contain essays, poems and creative nonfiction inspired by Rembrandt, Wassily Kandinsky, Andrew Wyeth, David Hockney, André Leon Talley, French artist Ghislaine Lejard, American artist Todd Anderson as well as Hong Kong street artists, plus an interview with novelist, journalist and artist Amitava Kumar, who is based in both India and the United States.
The launch takes place inside Studio Six, 3021 Paseo in Oklahoma City. The public is invited to join the launch celebration, and no RSVP is required. Gayle Curry, WLT’s art director, is one of the Studio Six artists who share the atelier and gallery space. Refreshments will be served.
Mustang-based cover artist Holly Wilson (Delaware/Cherokee) will also be in attendance.
Signed copies of the WLT print edition as well as one-of-a-kind art will be available for purchase. A number of door prizes will be given out, including copies of two limited-edition trilingual broadsides by current U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo and recent U.S. Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye; signed books by recent Neustadt and NSK Prize laureates and copies of Dispatches from the Republic of Letters, the 50th anniversary Neustadt Prize anthology.
In addition, WLT will recognize members of their Student Advisory Board who also serve as the creative team behind The Aster, a literary and arts magazine featuring the work of OU students. Winners of the 2022 Aster prizes in fiction, poetry, visual art and photography will be announced.
Kerri Shadid will host her Poetry Stand at the launch celebration, offering short, spontaneous poems for visitors using a word of their choosing as inspiration.
For more information on parking and accommodations, visit the arts district’s website. For questions or additional accommodations, please call (405) 325-4531 or email the offices of WLT.
WLT’s mission is to serve the international, state and university communities by achieving excellence as a literary publication, a sponsor of literary prizes and a cultural center for students. Now in its tenth decade of continuous publication, WLT has been recognized by the Nobel Prize committee as “one of the best edited and most informative literary publications,” in the world. The publication received the Oklahoma Governor’s Arts Award in 2016, along with dozens of other awards since its publication began.
Article Published: Wednesday, May 4, 2022