by Aria DeLara ’25
Hello! My name is Aria DeLara. I’m a Creative Writing Major, 1st chair cello of the Cornell Orchestra, consultant at the Dungy Writing Studio, RA, Print Publicist of SLAB Literary Arts Board, and Treasurer of BOOM, which is another magazine here on campus. It’s a long list, I know, but most Cornellians find themselves involved in multiple clubs by their second year.
When Professor Rebecca Entel sent out her monthly event schedule of English Department related events (an email thread I would encourage every student to sign up for), I found myself intrigued by the announcement of a Cleaver Magazine Virtual Reading. The event took place on Sunday, April 21st over Zoom. Its premise was simple and wonderful: to celebrate the release of their 45th Spring Issue being published, Cleaver Magazine would host an online reading of some of their published authors’ works. Not only was it an amazing chance to allow the authors to share their submissions with their peers through their own spoken words, but it was also a delightful interactive space for observers to sit amongst published authors and foster access to the larger creative community.
The works ranged from poetry-like short stories about childhood, to non-fiction, to flash pieces. One of the pieces was even a work by Professor Rebecca Entel herself, which was wonderful to listen to. Some of my favorite readings of the night were Katie Tonellato’s Baby, Sweetheart, Honey, and Federico Escobar’s Angela, which are both available to read on the Cleaver Magazine website. I loved how both authors’ facial expressions and vocal tones changed so drastically as they read, seeming to stretch and cut, shifting between sharp staccatos and drawn-out syllables. Being in my room, huddled in a quiet space, I was able to absorb the author’s own voices, then compare the readings to the actual magazine publications later that night.
The experience reminds me of other authorial readings I have attended, including the more recent Erica Lewis reading, but also the open-mic nights that Cornell’s own Lyrically Inclined hosts for student poets to read their works. Most of the similarity I notice comes from the perspective of being an audience member, someone in the crowd amongst other audience-poets, where the reading of a line is accompanied by snaps, whistles, and hums. In the case of this Cleaver Magazine reading, those affirmations and acknowledgements are substituted by the medium of Zoom, becoming emojis and quotations shared in the chat to show appreciation for the art form.
Currently, I am applying for internships in publishing as well as media advertising, so witnessing such a variety of published works as well as the physical diversity of publishing authors was inspiring to me. I found myself moved by the sheer variety of topics these authors were able to share, and aspire to reflect some of that uniqueness in my own writing as both a poet, and a short story author. Whether I continue forward as a reader, or make my way into the world of publishing my own works, I will always be grateful for the chance to take part in these spaces. As the year draws to a close, I’m tying up all my loose ends here at Cornell, and I’m glad that this reading was one of my final, quiet, Sophomore nights.
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