About Luna Negra
The minds behind the publication
Luna Negra family photo
(from top left to right):
Melissa Hosom– photo
editor,
James Winter–assistant editor,
Anne Maltempi– art director,
Liz Biris–assistant photo editor,
Emilia Irizarry–designer,
Nicholas M.
DiSabatino– editor,
Gabz Ciofani–editor
From the Editors
I’ve come to the end of
my yellow brick road here
at Kent State University.
It seems unfathomable to
me that very soon I won’t
wake up and find myself
walking to class, going
to work in the English
Department, or seeing
the people who made
every day here at Kent
wonderful for me. This
grand journey wouldn’t
be possible without the
people who inspired,
supported, and guided
me throughout my four years at Kent.
One such person inspired me to apply for the editor
position of Luna Negra. I had been featured in the
magazine as a writer, but I didn’t know if I could make
it as an editor. But with a great staff and the support
of my co-editor Gabz and advisor Karen Kastner,
I felt confident that we could revitalize a sinking
publication.
Luna Negra is not just for English Majors and it
is not just for Journalism Majors. It is a culmination
of every form of creative expression that our student
body represents on campus—poetry, short stories,
photography, and artwork. In this day and age,
publication is a once and a lifetime opportunity for the
very few, but very talented writers out there. There are
few outlets left for Kent’s best and brightest creative
writers, and I hope that Luna Negra will continue to
represent the university and inspire young writers to
take the risk, to head off on their own yellow brick
road, and experience all that life has to offer in a field
of words and images.
I’m proud to have shared the position of editor
this semester with Gabz Ciofani and I know that the
publication will continue to head in a strong and
focused direction in the future.
Thank you,
Nicholas M. DiSabatino
When Nick and I came together at the end of last
semester to discuss what we’d like to see Luna Negra
become, we had very distinct, important goals we set
for ourselves and for the publication we wanted Luna
Negra to serve as a guidebook for those wishing to
find great writers at Kent State, for the great writers to
find themselves, and for all of us who are passionate
about literature to come together to experience it
alongside one another. We wanted to breathe the life
of poetry back into the publication while reuniting the
writing communities on and off campus. And last, we
wanted to show those of you with a passion for words
some opportunities where the city of Kent invites you
to speak your “peace”.
Local poet Maj Raigan once told me that a poem
with out a reader is only half complete. It isn’t finished
until it is shared, because poetry does not exist
exclusively for the writer- it exists for all of us. So I
ask that you help bring these poems to completion by
reading them, by sharing them with one another and
by following them up with some writings of your own.
I hope that you enjoy reading this semester’s
edition of Luna Negra as much as we enjoyed
experiencing the submissions and putting it all
together. And always remember- since writing is
equally about both the process and the product and
since it’s as healing to write it as it is to read it, don’t
ever let the opinions of those
around you prevent your pen
from moving.
Now I leave you on the
note of a short poem I wrote
and ask that you allow its
words to sink deep
inside you:
Iron Mediocrity
It’s ironic we’ve been
convinced
our words hold no
significance
when they are our
strongest of weapons.
Peace, love and poetry,
Gabz Ciofani
