The Interlochen Review was founded in 1976, a year after the Creative Writing major’s inception. As an official publication, it offered the opportunity for young writers to not only gain experience in submitting and publishing their own pieces, but to work behind the scenes of a literary journal as well (an opportunity scarcely found at other high schools). Unlike the Red Wheelbarrow, the Review was a thick, professionally bound and printed journal. From the beginning, then, it was clear that Interlochen took the Creative Writing major seriously. Additionally, the department brought in many accomplished, prestigious guest authors within the first few years, such as Donald Hall and Maxine Kumin. These authors not only interacted with the young writers through workshops and readings; they also wrote editorials for the Review praising the students for their talent, attentiveness and passion. Many commented that they felt the students’ work surpassed the level of that in college workshops.
Instructors’ work was also published in the Review, which situated the students on the same level as their teachers. Their work wasn’t being published just to appease; rather, they were part of a project into which every member of the Creative Writing department invested their time, thought and energy. Without an obvious chasm between them, the message was clear: students’ words were valuable, worthy of being published, and on par with those of “real” authors.
Every spring, students in the Literary Publications course assemble the entire Review, from front cover to last page. One image is chosen out of a pool of art submissions for the cover. Today, submissions are open to various arts high schools across the country. The Review itself is not just filled with stories and poems, but also interviews, play scripts and screenplay excerpts. Since the publication became completely digital in 2012, short films have been published as well. This allows the Review staff to work not just with creative writers, but to collaborate with other departments--such as Motion Picture Arts and Visual Art--fostering a sense of artistic camaraderie accessible to a greater community outside of Interlochen.
