What are we looking for?

"In My Life" is a department of the Swarthmore College Bulletin that features first-person essays reflecting on life's journey. The essay should seek to achieve a connection between writer and reader on a level that is more emotional or spiritual than intellectual. It may be contemplative or provocative, humorous or serious, happy or sad, angry or at peace. It might include narrative or storytelling elements—even fiction in some cases—that illuminate both personal experience and the human condition. But whatever form it takes, the essay should be centered on the writer's life—its changes, discoveries, blind alleys, contradictions, epiphanies, estrangements, and/or reconciliations.

What aren't we interested in?

Please, no laundry lists of achievements, political rants, or grinding of axes—no matter how worthy the cause. No position papers, academic arguments, or fine points of philosophical discourse. No Swarthmore nostalgia (we have another section for that called "Our Back Pages"). And, of course, no attacks on another person or persons.

Who decides what is accepted for publication?

Submissions will be read and evaluated by the editors and will be selected for publication based on the above criteria. The editors must also consider the mix of other articles in a given issue, the availability of appropriate artwork, and our desire for variety in the tone and style of essays. General "fit" for an alumni magazine will also be a factor. The decision of the editors is final.

How to submit.

Finished essays should be from 1,300 to 1,500 words in length. Please submit double-spaced hard copy and a diskette (if possible), or arrange to transmit copy to the Publications Office by electronic mail. A preliminary discussion of ideas with the editors in advance of writing is welcome. A clear color photograph of the author will be required after acceptance, and the provision of other appropriate photography or artwork, or suggestions for same, would be very helpful.

Questions?

Please contact either of these editors:

Jeffrey Lott, editor (610) 328-8401
jlott1@swarthmore.edu

Carol Brévart Demm, associate editor (610) 690-6840
cbrevar1@swarthmore.edu

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