By: John David Barnett
Student Involvement Student Writer
The Circle, Auburn University’s literary and arts magazine, has cemented itself as a premiere media presence since its foundation 50 years ago. The magazine’s ever evolving circulation of issues has kept Auburn students on their toes for years, and the standard for submitted content is only getting higher. Recent years have shown The Circle’s rise to national recognition, and this year’s spring issue deserves the watchful eyes of the Auburn community as it builds upon The Circle’s honorable legacy.
Back in 1974, Auburn’s campus saw the very first issue of The Circle. Those early years were essential in establishing an artistically inclined foundation for the magazine. Members of The Circle’s first staff should look back at their time on staff with pride, as they were founding members of a legacy that has endured. The premise is still the same after 50 years.
A look through one of those earlier issues harkens back to an age where print media reigned supreme. The glory days of the print industry seem to be in the past, however The Circle refuses to let that slow them down. In fact, it has been in the organization’s most recent years in which they’ve proved their ability to make waves in the world of collegiate magazine publications.
In 2020, the Associated Collegiate Press bestowed upon the staff of The Circle their first ever Pacemaker award. This honor marked a turning point for the magazine. Since then, they have been named as finalists in their category every year.
2020 Auburn graduate Cecilia Wood was The Circle’s editor-in-chief during the production of Volume 46 Issue 2, the issue that took home that prestigious plaque. Her effort and leadership helped bring about a new approach for The Circle; an approach that turned out to be a winning one.
“The year that we won our first Pacemaker award, we took a different, very bold approach with its creative direction,” Wood said. “Our graphic designer, Greer Miceli, was intentional about adding creative elements with a consistent throughline, and the staff was really careful in choosing creative submissions and copy that would play well together. I think that created a cohesive experience that made our magazine feel like one whole piece rather than pieces of a whole.”
The pandemic severely affected the end of Wood’s senior year; however, her experience in The Circle – and putting forth an award-winning effort with her staff – provided a silver lining.
“The pacemaker award felt like a tangible representation of something that we as a group spent so much time on,” Wood said. She reminisced on the bonding experiences her and her staff shared in The Circle’s office, working hard to deliver a profound final product. She felt that the award, and the magazine itself, were mementos of those relationships formed through The Circle.
“I found out we won the Pacemaker in the fall of 2020, after the pandemic changed a lot of expectations. I didn’t get a chance to walk across a graduation stage or say goodbye to most of my friends on campus, but finding out the magazine I had a chance to work on had won felt really full circle and made me excited to see how future members of the staff would carry on the creativity.”
Future members would be diligent about pushing their creativity in all directions. The Circle’s 2023-2024 staff was part of a momentous occasion as the group published their 50th volume of the magazine. This milestone year saw the experienced student staff present two exceptional issues of The Circle to campus.
Sara Amis, editor-in-chief for the 2023-2024 academic year, helped lead the magazine further in that direction Wood created: “one whole piece rather than pieces of a whole.”
The Circle has started adopting common themes for their issues. Instead of presenting the student submitted content in a straightforward order, the staff has instead elected to divide submissions into uniquely themed chapters.
Amis discussed how she and her team presented last fall’s issue as commentary on “creativity and the brain.” Each of the magazine’s four chapters were titled based upon different structures in the brain, and then submissions were then divided into chapters based on their thematic similarities. The themed chapter structure has helped The Circle stand out against other collegiate magazines in the country as they continue to rack up Pacemaker finalist and winner accolades.
The most recent issue of The Circle, Volume 50 Issue 2, was rolled out by Amis and the rest of her staff as spring semester classes neared their end.
“This semester the magazine’s chapters are based around time, to commemorate 50 years of The Circle” Amis said. “Each chapter is based on a part of the day cycle. The issue will start with midnight, then dawn, then midday and then finally dusk.” Readers are guaranteed to be thrust into a beautifully woven story that showcases the best of Auburn’s artistic talent – all while supporting what is now a 50-year-old legacy.
The Circle’s streak of innovation shows no sign of slowing down, as each year’s staff is determined to deliver a magazine of the highest caliber. While the physical print industry seems to be slowing down, The Circle is just beginning to rev their engines. The Auburn Family – and the entire country for that matter – should keep a watchful eye on this group as they continue to break the glass ceilings of the art and literary world.
For more information on how you can get involved with The Circle, click here.