Literary magazine blends science, writing and culture
Utah State University students and faculty have launched a new and unique exploration of science and nature by introducing the literary magazine, Isotope.
With much excitement, the first issue of Isotope was released this month, said Chris Cokinos, editor of Isotope and a professor in the English department.
“I am hoping that this magazine will reach people who are interested in a different type of writing,” Cokinos said.
Entitled Isotope: A Journal of Literary Nature and Science Writing, the publication is a bi-annual, tax-exempt, non-profit publication of the USU English department according to the first issue of the magazine.
The magazine was originally entitled Petroglyph, which was created by a group of USU graduate students interested in nature writing, Cokinos said.
Shannon Ballom was the editorial director for Petroglyph, to whom Cokinos said he gives much credit for her hard work and dedication.
The journal was handed over to Cokinos who said he was interested in bringing more variety to the magazine along the lines of science and nature.
“I wanted to take the magazine in a direction that had a little more edge to it and more writing about the sciences,” Cokinos said. “I wanted it to be more expansive and experimental.”
Submissions for Isotope have come in from various places throughout the world, Cokinos said.
“Isotope contains a wide array of writing styles and art including poetry, short stories, essays and photographs,” Cokinos said.
Astronomy, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, sexuality, urban ecosystems, restoration ecology, physics and math are subjects the magazine hopes to explore, according to the first issue.
“Hopefully, this will be a meeting place for writers who are coming from an English tradition who are interested in writing about the sciences,” Cokinos said. “We have a chance here to do something really special.”
Cokinos said Isotope is targeted toward people who enjoy literary writing in general, but are also interested in the environment and science.
“This magazine is unique, there is really nothing else like it out there,” he said. “My hope is that people here at Utah State and different people we approach will see that and support it.”
Chet Raymo, a science and nature columnist with the Boston Globe for more than 20 years, said, “Isotope offers a place, almost uniquely, for science and nature writers to explore their common interests, and to perhaps create – and name – a literary genre that will serve to bring scientific knowledge into our affective lives and put a human face on science.”
Isotope is currently seeking writers and subscribers who would be interested in being involved in a unique publication, Cokinos said.
“I encourage people to check this magazine out. We have copies at Chapter Two [Books] and Borders in Logan,” Cokinos said.
Isotope will also be coming to the USU Bookstore.
The creators of Isotope are planning on publishing two issues a year, which may increase in the future, Cokinos said.
For more information about Isotope contact Chris Cokinos by phone at 797-3352 or by e-mail, ccokinos@cc.usu.edu.
Excerpts and information about Isotope can be found on the Web at www.english.usu.edu. Click on the Isotope link located on the English department home page.
-jengeisler@cc.usu.edu