We, librarians, are fortunate that we get to meet a lot of incoming Hopkins students. We often request that they give us their “burning questions” — about Baltimore, Hopkins, the library, life, and love, etc. We’ve curated some of their questions and their answers into a series of blog posts that we hope will address some “burning questions” of your own.
Q: Are there any book/literature/writers’ associations at Hopkins/in Baltimore?
While this is by no means an exhaustive list of what’s out there, we do have a number of great options at Hopkins.
- Zeniada
- Founded in 1929, Zeniada is among the oldest student-run, intercollegiate magazines still published today. It focuses primarily on art and poetry from undergrads. Zeniada.com
- Writer’s Warehouse
- The JHU Writer’s Warehouse produces a literary magazine highlighting prose, poetry, and fiction from JHU undergrads. Check out their Insta or find them on Campus Groups.
- BlueJays and Poets
- Another great group for poetry is Bluejays and Poets. Check them out on Campus Groups!
- Writer’s Room
- Is poetry not your jam? Is long-form prose not scratching your creative itch? Perhaps learning screenwriting with the JHU Writer’s Room is what you need. Get more info on what they do here.
- The Hopkins Review
- Now in its 16th year, The Hopkins Review is the reincarnation of a literal journal of the same name that existed between 1947 and 1953. In its original run, The Hopkins Review published the works of e.e. cummings and John Barth. According to their website, “The mission of The Hopkins Review is to publish today’s vital voices and visions in literature, culture, criticism, public-facing scholarship, and the arts.” They take submissions in October, so polish up that piece you’ve been working on.
- JHU News-Letter
- The Johns Hopkins News-Letter [sic] has been around for over 125 years! Perhaps, journalism is in your future or you simply want to get involved. The News-Letter is staffed completely by students and any undergraduate can get involved. Don’t want to write? No problem, they also need editors, photographers, tech staff, and even cartoonists.
- Witness Theater
- An entirely student-driven theater group, Witness Theater offers opportunities not only to act and direct but to write one-act plays that will be produced by the group. You can check out their Instagram here.
- Noon Magazine (for AAPI students)
- Noon Magazine occupies a fascinating space at Hopkins. Noon Magazine is a JHU-based, Asian-American interest magazine that explores questions about the Asian-American experience and questions of self.
- Marque Magazine
- Marque Magazine is a unique addition to this list. Unlike the others on this list, Marque is a fashion magazine that is run by students and focuses not only on great visuals but on great writing, too. Check them out here!
Outside of Hopkins there are some, you may want to check out events at local bookshops as a way to find out a bit more about the writing scene around campus. Of course there are also plenty of online/hybrid/local options not covered here. The Maryland Writers’ Association can link you up with critique groups. Meetup.com hosts plenty of writing groups.
So get out there and meet some like-minded people. We can’t wait to read what you write!