Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information  Office
                                           publicinfor@selu.edu
                                           SLU 10880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: 6/29/99
      Contact:                           Carol Dotson   135

EDITORS -- PLEASE NOTE LOCAL INTEREST
SLU CREATIVE WRITERS HOSTS RELEASE PARTY FOR LITERARY PUBLICATION 
     HAMMOND -- Southeastern Louisiana University's Creative Writers Group will host a
reception at 4 p.m., Friday, July 16th, at the Hammond Books-A-Million, 2310 West Thomas
Street, in the Town and Country Shopping Center. The reception will celebrate the publication of
the group's annual literary collection Outside the Lines, a chapbook featuring poetry and fiction
by Southeastern students.
     The publication also features Woody Stevens of Hammond, whose original artwork will
be on display at the reception. The sophomore art major won "Best of Show" in the 1999
Southeastern Student Art Show. Authors will read from their published works and refreshments
will be served. Students, faculty, and the general public are cordially invited to attend. 
     Michael Libersat, a senior English major from Ponchatoula, has served as editor of
Outside the Lines for two years. He explained that the chapbook's purpose is to provide more
publication opportunities for students. "We have some wonderful literary publications at
Southeastern," he said, "but in the past they have been open primarily to students taking creative
writing classes.
     "The SLU Creative Writers Group wanted to offer a chance for any student to see his or
her writing in print, as long as it was of high literary quality," said Libersat. "We're very pleased
with the submissions we received, which range from a poem called "Humanity in Kilonewtons"
by freshman Gwendolyn Osburg of Baton Rouge, a gifted writer who is also a Physics major, to
an absorbing fantasy story called "Wish Girl" by senior actor/Mass Communications student Phil
Sevin of Zachary."
     The 1999 edition of Outside the Lines marks a unique collaboration between the SLU
Creative Writers Group and the Department of Visual Arts.
                                                -more-

Outside the Lines Release Party/ADD ONE

     "Clark Hall Gallery is pleased to support efforts that bring our visual arts students
together with SLU's Creative Writers Group," said Don Marshall, director of the gallery and
Cultural Resource Management. "There is great potential for future collaborations."
     The eye-catching layout of Outside the Lines was created by SLU Creative Writers Group
faculty advisor Dan Butcher, who explained that the group "exists to promote excellence in
poetry and fiction and to provide support for student writers." Butcher also maintains the group's
website, which features more information, including upcoming events, and the 1998 edition of
Outside the Lines.  Those interested are invited to visit the website at
www.selu.edu/orgs/CreativeWriting. 
     Outside the Lines was produced with assistance from the Southeastern English
department, Clark Hall Gallery, the Student Government Association, the SLU Writing Center,
and Baker Printing.  
                                                              -SLU-
          This press release is available on the World Wide Web:
          www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newsm99.htm