UT showed its artsy side Tuesday as the “Phoenix Literary Arts Magazine” held its fall reading at the UC.

Intimately nestled in the Hermitage Room, the event was an opportunity not only for the staff and contributors to show off the final product of their first semester labors, but it also offered these burgeoning writers the chance to strut their stuff for the assembled group.

“Tonight was meant to be a celebration and an honor for the published authors for the fall edition of ‘Phoenix,'” Editor-in-Chief Hannah Bloomfield, a senior in English who hosted the event, said. “It was meant to showcase their work and really show the student body that these are credible, talented authors and artists and that we wanted to hold a reading to showcase them.”

Full disclosure: Bloomfield is a copy editor for The Daily Beacon.

Originally scheduled for Jan. 17, the reading was pushed back due to inclement weather. This delay, however, did not hinder the number of people there nor the enthusiasm of those in attendance.

“I feel like we still had a good turnout,” Bloomfield said. “… Still, I feel the readings were top quality and enjoyable.”

Bloomfield was not the only one who had a good time at the reading.

“It was fun,” said Michael Herrell, a senior in English, who read his poem “Carolina Nectar” at the event. “I didn’t know how the content would go over, but it seemed to go well.”

Along with Herrell’s poem, three other pieces of work were read, including Genny Petschulat’s poem “Bom Dia, Flor Do Dia,” Miranda Jones’ short story, “In a Hand Basket,” and Rachael MacLean’s short story, “Never Be Nighttime,” which told the story of a mother and daughter struggling to live in a Taliban-controlled Kabul, Afghanistan.

For MacLean, a freshman in English, the night was uniquely special because this was her first published work.

“The ‘Phoenix’ really seemed like a good place to get published and to get a little publicity around campus.” MacLean said. “This was a great opportunity, and I felt it went well.”

Ultimately, Tuesday night represented the “Phoenix” closing one chapter and beginning a new one for the spring.

“This was a breath of fresh air,” Bloomfield said. “This was the final event for this fall edition. And I feel like it became a living thing. It’s now finally able to be on its own with its independence. And now we’ve already started work on the next edition.”

The magazine accepts student and faculty produced fiction, poetry, art, performance art and original music. It has a rolling deadline for submissions to its spring edition, but there is a strong suggestion for work to be turned in online through [email protected] by Feb. 25. For any questions on submissions, contact the staff through the previous address.

In the context of the night, however, Bloomfield expressed the uniqueness of the “Phoenix” on campus, which is now in its 54th year of publication.

“Every ‘Phoenix’ is a little bit different,” Bloomfield said. “Every ‘Phoenix’ is kind of its own thing. And we can start on a new creative journey for the next ‘Phoenix.'”