Did you know that Contra Costa Community College has its very own literary magazine?
The second printing of it is coming soon, with the first edition being titled “The Current: A Journal of Literature and Art.”
The second in a series produced by the Contra Costa Community College, this year’s issue of The Current will feature the work of artists, poets, and writers, from the student body and faculty.
“The lit mag came about as a result of the library’s open mic poetry readings,” Amy Catania, current Editor-in-Chief for The Current this year said.
In the Fall of 2024, Catania, Vern Cromartie, Ben Jahn, Andrew Kuo, Agustin Palacios, and Camille Santana discussed how to help students get more comfortable with publishing, Catania explained.
“One of the faculty members remembered that we used to have a lit mag on campus,” Catania added. “The group decided to try to bring the lit mag back, so we met in the Spring of 2025 and began brainstorming how we could reprise the lit mag. By March, we had a name, ‘Current: A Journal of Literature and Art,’ and a plan.”
The initial publication had 36 artists and writers submitting 63 works by a deadline in March and April of last year, and this took a great deal of time, with the first edition of The Current coming out in the following May, after much work from Catania and her fellow editors. This year, the publication started soliciting submissions for the literary magazine this past December, and closed submissions on Feb. 14.
“There were fewer submissions than for the last issue, but that does make the load a bit more manageable than last year,”Catania said, “Since we started earlier this year than last year, we hope to get the publication out much sooner than last year with a tentative date in April, as we hope to coincide with National Poetry Month.”
The aim of the staff behind The Current is to make it a yearly publication, where yet-unpublished authors and artists can get comfortable with submitting their work to publications.
Catania explained that “getting published is a huge confidence booster,” and she hopes that it “will help folks become confident enough to submit their work to other publications.”
While there is not a currently available release date, Catania and the editors behind The Current look to be on track for a release in April. In the meantime, the previous edition can be found on the Contra Costa Community College’s website, under “Research Guides,” where you can find it under the link “Current: A Journal of Literature and Art.”
“Artistic expression is such a crucial part of our very humanity, and providing a space for that expression to shine is equally as essential,” Catania said, “So, we hope that our publication can help folks get started on or continue their artistic journeys.”
