by Cara Cook

UHCLIDIAN STAFF

The staff of Bayousphere, UH-Clear Lake's award-winning literary arts magazine, unveiled the 2003 volume during a reception for its contributors Jan. 29.

Ashley Packard, the magazine's faculty adviser for the past five years, introduced the staff and invited editor Margarita Trevino to announce the winners in the five different categories: artwork, poetry, nonfiction, fiction and photography.

Lynne Barends won the photography award for her photo of the emu featured on the magazine's cover. This is

Barends' first time to win a prize for her contribution to the magazine. The photo received a perfect score when rated by the staff, inevitably placing it on the cover. Barends said she took the picture while visiting the Bayou Wildlife Park in Dickinson with some friends last spring. She carried a bucket full of food to feed the animals at the park. When she returned to her car, emus began running after her bucket of food.

"They came out of nowhere," Barends said. "All of a sudden I grabbed my camera because that one emu stood out and I knew I wanted to capture the image. It was literally right in front of my face."

Alan Adams took first place in the artwork category for "Tea Cup Madness." For poetry, Jerry Underwood won for "Back to the Sea." Joy Kennedy received the nonfiction award for "Gecko Days" and Sue Mayfield-Geiger received the fiction award for "Hoppins Drive-Inn."

Packard said she feels "fortunate to have had the honor of working on Bayousphere for the last five years." She said she has watched the magazine evolve over the years, bringing along "wave after wave of a wonderful array of artists."

Students enrolled in the Magazine Publication course at UH-Clear Lake produce Bayousphere each year. This class, offered only in the fall semester, introduces students to magazine feature writing and the various phases of magazine production.

In addition to working on the staff of Bayousphere, the students learn to write feature articles and query letters for submission to the magazines of their choice.

"This class was both overwhelming and a pleasure," Trevino said. "The course, the experience and the knowledge I gained would not have been without the inspiration of such a devoted professor and adviser as Dr. Packard. She possesses such a great deal of knowledge that I feel so lucky to have been under her instruction."

The Bayousphere staff accepts submissions from students, faculty, alumni and members of the community each year. All of the submissions are reviewed by the staff and given a rating.

Since its inception, Bayousphere has regularly won top prizes from prestigious organizations such as the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association.

Last year, Bayousphere was ranked as one of the top six collegiate literary arts magazines in the nation. The 2003 volume faces competition in the coming months.

This year's publication was Packard's last as the faculty adviser. This fall she became the convenor of the communication department, and assumed additional duties and responsibilities that led her to give up her position next year to Taleen Washington, faculty adviser for the UHCLIDIAN. John Gorman, creative consultant for Bayousphere, said Packard's promotion is well deserved.

"Ashley has set a high standard for future advisers," Gorman said. "I only wish her very high professional standards and mixture of talents was more common."

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