Stone Canoe broadens scope, establishes new prize, assembles stellar group of editors for 2012 edition

Stone Canoe, A Journal of Art, Literature and Social Commentary, published by Syracuse University, has announced the new group of editors for its 2012 edition.

“This is an incredible group of accomplished people,“ says Robert Colley, Stone Canoe executive editor, “and their participation is a reflection of the ongoing commitment to excellence and diversity that had characterized our journal since its inception. “The 2012 edition will be the sixth version of the annual publication, which has—in its short history—showcased the work of hundreds of artists and writers with ties to Upstate New York.

Poetry editor for Stone Canoe 6 is Bruce Smith, professor of English and creative writing in SU’s The College of Arts and Sciences, and the author of five books of poetry, the most recent of which is “Devotions,” just published by University of Chicago Press. “Bruce Smith is a poet I have always read with awe and hunger,” says Terrence Hayes, National Book Award winner. “This amazing new book overwhelms me in the best possible ways.” Smith’s fourth book, “The Other Lover” (University of Chicago Press, 2000), was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer prize.

Stone Canoe 6 fiction editor is Paul Cody, author of four critically acclaimed novels, including “Shooting the Heart” (Viking, 2004), as well a number of shorter articles and stories for major magazines. A former professor at Cornell University and Ithaca College, he has also served as associate editor and award-winning writer for Cornell Magazine, and since 2000 has volunteered as a teacher at Auburn Correctional Facility.

Stone Canoe 6 editor for creative nonfiction is Jennifer Brice, associate professor at Colgate University, and associate director of Colgate Press. A native of Alaska, Brice is a former journalist and author of two nonfiction books, most recently “Unlearning to Fly” (University of Nebraska, 2007), as well as a number of essays in various magazines.

The visual arts editorial duties for Stone Canoe 6 will be shared by two artists, Yvonne Buchanan and Doreen Quinn. Buchanan, a professor of art and design in SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, who is best known for her prize-winning illustrations for children’s books and major publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Nation and The Los Angeles Times, has more recently been involved in experimental video. Quinn, a multimedia artist, is professor of three-dimensional design and sculpture at the Pratt Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute in Utica.

Beginning with issue 6, Stone Canoe will also feature writing about music, a new initiative jointly overseen by Neva Pilgrim and Steven Stucky, two highly acclaimed musicians and music scholars from Upstate New York. Pilgrim is the founder and artistic director of the Society for New Music, and also hosts and produces “Fresh Ink,” a classical music program on NPR. She is an accomplished singer who has performed with many of the world’s most distinguished orchestras, has recorded extensively and has served as an artist-in-residence at Colgate University since 1976. Stucky is widely recognized as one of today’s leading composers, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for his “Second Concerto for Orchestra.” He is professor of composition at Cornell University and will be composer- in-residence with the Pittsburgh Symphony for the 2011-12 season.

For the 2012 issue, the journal will also solicit writing on topics related to technology and engineering, and will offer a prize in that category funded by SU’s L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science (LCS). The editor overseeing this new initiative, which is intended to increase public awareness of the role engineering plays in the shaping of modern culture, will be Jerrold Heller ’63, an LCS electrical engineering alumnus and current member of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees. Heller has played a key role in the development of state-of-the art digital communication technology, and has been awarded several patents and authored many papers on a range of discoveries in this area. He has held leadership positions in several major corporations, and has received two Emmy awards from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievement in engineering development.

The L.C. Smith prize will be the sixth offered by Stone Canoe, in addition to previously established prizes in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, visual arts and arts leadership, and a special series of arts prizes for high school students funded by the Gifford Foundation.

Returning editors Kyle Bass and Nancy Keefe Rhodes will continue to lead Stone Canoe’s expansion into the areas of drama and the moving image, respectively. Bass, an award-winning playwright, serves as dramaturg for Syracuse Stage, and also teaches in Goddard College’s MFA program. Rhodes is a respected arts journalist and curator who teaches film theory and criticism in SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Launched in 2006 at University College of Syracuse University in support of Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s ongoing efforts to forge creative community partnerships, Stone Canoe has won medals in three Independent Book Publishers’ Competitions and is now recognized as the most comprehensive and innovative publication of its kind in the Upstate New York region. Submissions for the 2012 edition are welcome through July 30, 2011, and should be sent through the journal’s website, http://www.stonecanoejournal.org.