‘W&L After Class’ Podcast Releases New Episode Featuring Beth Staples In this month’s episode, Staples speaks of the power of imagination and storytelling and the continuous, and evolving, legacy of the Shenandoah literary magazine.
Everyone has an imagination. Everyone has an inner emotional life. And so, art classes tell them that that matters and that should matter their whole life. They need to take the time to listen to it. I think that’s my advice: Your imagination is part of what makes you you, and make sure you give it some love.”
~ Beth Staples, editor of Shenandoah and assistant professor of English
As Beth Staples combs through the entries for the 75th anniversary issue of the Shenandoah literary magazine, she sees pages of art existing for art’s sake. She reads the words of writers taking a chance. And as the editor of Shenandoah and assistant professor of English at Washington and Lee University, she and all those involved with the magazine get to celebrate that risk without worry of catering to an audience or turning a profit.
“I think when students think of becoming editor, they always think of big New York publishing. But I think one of the fun things about literary magazines is that they should be a little bit unexpected,” Staples says. “In my view, you should find something different every time. They can be sort of counter cultural. We are not mandated to make this thing profitable. It’s more like we get to support the artists and the writers whose work we really admire. We get to support emerging writers whom you’ve never heard of. It’s almost like an anti-commodity — you get to take chances on work that excites you or that is unexpected.”
Staples joins associate director of Lifelong Learning Ruth Candler as the latest guest on “W&L After Class.” In this episode, “Inviting the Imagination,” Staples speaks to her earliest writing journeys and the professor who gave her the confidence to explore that love. She explains the crucial role of literary magazines in elevating writers and the legacy that Shenandoah plays in that responsibility. She delves into the evolution of Shenandoah, the creation of the Shenandoah Fellowship program and the expansion into new genres for the magazine such as creative nonfiction, comics and translations. And regarding the Shenandoah Internship program, Staples describes the singular experience working on the literary magazine provides Washington and Lee students.
“In other English classes or creative writing classes, your teacher is presenting things to you like, ‘You should love this novel or this story,’ and ‘We’re going to talk about why it’s high art and what you should learn from it,’” says Staples. “But in Shenandoah, they get to decide what they think is art, and I don’t think anyone’s ever really asked them to do that. There’s really something exciting about that.”
Staples’ “Inviting the Imagination” marks the third episode in sixth season for “W&L After Class,” which launched on Jan. 14. This season includes conversations with Holly Pickett, professor of English, on the universal impact of William Shakespeare and Matthew Loar, director of fellowships and student research, on the transformative nature of collegiate research in shaping individuals.
“W&L After Class” began in the spring of 2020 and is a collaborative effort of Lifelong Learning, Alumni Engagement and the Office of Communications and Public Affairs. Each episode invites listeners to experience conversations with W&L’s expert faculty, giving listeners worldwide a chance to stroll the Colonnade in the comfort of their homes. W&L faculty members discuss their teaching, research and special interests. Previous topics include chemistry, advertising, witches, AI and free speech.
Listeners in the W&L community and beyond are invited to listen to past episodes and seasons or wherever they listen to podcasts.
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