BY QUITTERIE GOUNOT

In print | Published January 21, 2010

Lovers of science fiction and fantasy have reason to rejoice: Psi Phi, the Swarthmore science-fiction and fantasy literature club, is currently accepting submissions for the magazine Unicorn Star.
While Unicorn Star might be unfamiliar to some Swatties, its publication is a longstanding Swarthmore tradition. It has a long and complex history, and some people might still remember it under the name “Bug-Eyed Magazine.” For the past two years, however, this magazine has been published under the name Unicorn Star, under the leadership of Psi Phi and other writing clubs. Contributor David Hinojosa ’12 said that Unicorn Star was a variation on the prior name Unicron Star, “as in the Transformer villain.”

Rachael Mansbach ’11 and Sarah Bricault ’11 are co-presidents of both the creative writing and science-fiction clubs. Although Swarthmore does have a variety of student literary publications, most of them seem to focus either on academic writing or on what Mansbach would call “modern literary fiction.”

“Most literary magazines [here at Swarthmore] don’t do science fiction or fantasy. It’s kind of a niche that needs taking,” Mansbach said.

Mansbach noted that many Swatties who write for leisure seem to prefer writing modern literary fiction but expressed the view that this trend does not necessarily reflect what students enjoy reading.
According to Mansbach, the notion of narrative is at the core of “genre fiction” such as science fiction and fantasy. “[Whereas] literary fiction tends to be about writing,” Mansbach said, “genre fiction tends to be about the story.” These genres are often associated with recognizable tropes and conventions.

The writers who choose to engage in them, however, do not feel limited by the demands and expectations associated with these genres. Rather, they enjoy rising to the challenges inherent to genre fiction.

“Conventions are fun because they can be subverted or fulfilled in unexpected ways,” Mansbach said.

Science fiction and fantasy are often associated with each other, much to the dismay of some of their fans who insist that they are two different genres. Mansbach suggested that these genres have a similar appeal to readers in the way they explore the unknown.

While she contended that “hard sci-fi is nothing like fantasy,” she suggested that “in soft sci-fi, science plays almost the same role as magic does in fantasy.” Mansbach cited the well-known science-fiction epic “Dune” by Frank Herbert as an example of “soft sci-fi” where the author does not go into long scientific explanations.

In defining “hard sci-fi,” she mentioned Isaac Asimov’s stories, which are grounded in physics and Newton’s laws. As Mansbach explained, any technological advances without an explicit mode of functioning seem inexplicable.

Paraphrasing Arthur C. Clark, she said, “At some point, technology becomes undistinguishable from magic because if you don’t know how something works, it’s basically magic.” The sense of wonder and thirst for exploration remain instrumental factors in drawing readers to fiction, and to science fiction and fantasy specifically. Creative writing club member Jean Dahlquist ’11 said, “When I read, I give my author a challenge: change my perception of life, and make me enjoy it. The authors who have done that for me are fantasy and scifi writers.”

At Swarthmore, reading and writing such fiction can open windows onto distant worlds, far away from the bubble’s all-encompassing intensity. In this way, these creative writing genres can provide students with a refreshing break from their studies. When asked if fiction should be about getting away from reality, Mansbach humored, “Well, at Swarthmore, yes. Too much time spent reading quantum physics doesn’t leave you with a desire to read realistic stuff.”

Submissions often venture far into the realm of imagination in a creative attempt to reshape the boundaries of reality. Hinojosa said, “Last semester, I submitted a short snip from a much larger story in which a demon is confronted by a young man seeking revenge for the death of his lover and a comedy piece about a duck who laments his cursed heritage.”

Unicorn Star is accepting submissions of Swarthmore students’ original science-fiction and fantasy short stories, poems and artwork until Feb. 26. The published product is expected to appear shortly before the end of the semester.

« RETURN TO LIVING & ARTS

« PREV ARTICLE | NEXT ARTICLE »