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'One voice among many'
Megan Jones marks the 9th year of her involvement in 'Perceptions'
The Advocate
A former “Perceptions” editor and MHCC alumnus, Megan Jones can’t seem to pull herself away from the college.
“I did my associates at MHCC and now take classes for fun and personal enlightenment here when I have time,” said Jones of her continuing education at MHCC.
Currently a full-time junior at Portland State University and working for MHCC in the tutoring and English departments, Jones still finds the time and dedication for contributing to “Perceptions.”
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“I’ve been involved with the magazine in some form or another since 2001,” she said. “Sometimes as the managing student editor, sometimes as a volunteer organizer.”
Jonathan Morrow, literature and composition instructor, said, “She really loves ‘Perceptions.’”
Jones found out about “Perceptions” from a fellow student and previous editor who encouraged her to join. “I did and I really enjoyed seeing such a variety of creative work from students and the wider community.”
“Perceptions” is a student-run magazine that has been published annually since 1969. Students enrolled in WR247, a three-term literary publication course, participate in the publication of “Perceptions” by reviewing submissions and selecting which works meet the needs of their creative vision for the publication.
The publication accepts non-fiction, fiction, poems, music, film, art and photography for entry into the magazine.
Morrow said Jones is not enrolled in the WR247 class but works on the publication as a volunteer. “I’m really lucky she’s volunteering her time for Perceptions,” he said. “She does it willingly and enthusiastically.”
As “one voice among many,” Jones said as an editor she has a vote in what gets put into the magazine. Morrow explains there is no one on the board “with power” and that the process is “blind” in order to be fair. “Blind” means that the board of editors does not know who has submitted work; it’s anonymous until selected.
Morrow said, “She’s been doing it for so long that she’s professional and she wants the publication to be fair.”
Jones said, “I probably look for originality above everything else. People who have obviously taken time to turn in professional entries also get big brownie points with me.”
Asked what Jones does that makes her an asset, Morrow said, “She gets us to discuss the submissions and answer the questions like ‘Why should this piece go in?’ She encourages careful deliberation.”
“She pretty much runs it,” he said. “She’s a great organizer.”
Asked what her other responsibilities include, Jones said, “I’m the person who keeps things on schedule and makes sure we look at all the submissions in a timely fashion.”
She also handles the task of sending out acceptance and rejection letters to the students who have submitted their work for consideration.
“It’s a great opportunity for people to develop some early self-confidence and believe that people really are responding positively to their work,” Jones said.
In addition to taking writing and P.E. classes, Jones said she enjoys reading and writing poetry and fiction.
Jones said her favorites include fiction authors Ray Bradbury and Jeannette Winterson and poets Sylvia Plath and Lucie Brock-Broido, and a “horde of lesser known experimental poets.”
“Having reading and writing as a hobby has made me realize that I don’t want to do creative writing as a career, but as a fun thing on the side,” Jones said.
Jones’ true passion is teaching. “I’ve taught almost every age and a variety of subjects,” Jones said. “I really have a passion for helping people understand mathematics and statistics.”
Morrow said, “She is studying sociology but she excels at math and she’s very creative,” which he said is not a common combination. “I imagine her helping people. I imagine her writing as well.” Teaching math at a community college is a pursuit Jones can see for herself after she graduates.
Being on staff for “Perceptions” has been eye opening for Jones.
She said the most interesting fiction story the “Perceptions” group received included “the Jack of Hearts turning into a real person with magical powers, other human characters turning into mermaids and heading to a watery love-nest, an apocalypse that caused the collapse of the Burnside Bridge and also led to beaver corpses floating down a river of blood (the Willamette), and a young couple riding off into the sunset on a unicorn.”
She said, “Needless to say, we didn’t accept that one, but it did scar me for life.”
Jones said that compared to other community college or university literature art journals she’s seen, “Perceptions” is of the highest quality.
“I’ve been proud of the final project every year I’ve been involved,” she said. “I hope it’s something that other editors and contributors can be proud of being a part of, too.”
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