CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Trompe-lāÅil
The Columbia Journal of Literary Criticism is seeking pitches and essays for its 2025 issue to be published in the spring. Writers should either be current undergraduates or recent graduates submitting undergraduate work.
Founded in 2002, CJLC acts as an interdisciplinary, undergraduate forum centered around literature, culture, and politics. The journal is published once a year and includes articles, reviews, interviews, and original artwork. CJLC attempts to examine the world around us in a way that is informed by academic thought but not subsumed by it.
Submission guidelines:
Pitches: Please email [email protected] with an outline of your article and a proposed/provisional bibliography. Please include your name, university and year of graduation. If we like the pitch, weāll contact you to set a deadline and work with you throughout the writing process.
Essays: You are welcome to submit an article, or essay to be converted into an article, to the same address. Please attach your essay as a word document, and include your name, university, and year of graduation in the body of the email. You are welcome to submit an essay from a previous course, granted that the essay or an adaptation has not been published elsewhere.
Essays (or pitches) should be scholarly work of original research and should not exceed 20 pages. Submissions should adhere to the Chicago citation style for all references and bibliographic entries.
Submissions are due January 25th, but you are very welcome to submit earlier.
Before submitting, please take a look at our past issues to get a sense for what we publish: http://c-j-l-c.org/archive/
This forthcoming issue will explore the theme of Trompe-lāÅilāthat which deceives the eye. We look forward to receiving pieces that explore and challenge the meaning of trompe-lāÅil and any words or themes associated with it.
In a story recounted by Pliny the Elder, two ancient Greek painters, Zeuxis and Parrhasius, competed to showcase their mastery of painting. Zeuxis began by painting grapes so lifelike that birds flew down to peck at them, deceived by their realism. Confident in his triumph, Zeuxis turned to Parrhasius, who invited him to pull aside a curtain to view his own work. When attempting to do so, Zeuxis realized the curtain itself was painted by Parrhasius.
One of the earliest descriptions of trompe-lāÅil, the tale playfully captures the effect of optical illusionism and the simultaneous fascination and threat associated with itāwe are always captivated by the magic of realist representation and in the meantime intimidated by its powers of trickery that denies us of reality.
But what is real and what is not? Historically, ārealityā and āthe realā have been paired with many āoppositesā by philosophers and theoristsāillusion, appearance, simulation/simulacrum, virtuality, fiction, image, copy, or even language and the symbolic. From Platoās allegory of the cave to the society of the spectacle, from Renaissance paintings to VR technologiesā¦ How is the eye deceived? Can it ever not be?
For this issue, we invite you to think about/through/with/against these concepts. We welcome any form of literary criticism, defined in the broadest way. You may send any questions you have to [email protected].
Stay up to date by keeping up with our website and Instagram, @c_j__l_c. We look forward to reading you!
Some commonly-asked questions:
Q: What does CJLC do?
A: We edit and publish two issues a year: our annual CJLC issue in the spring which is open to submissions from Columbia and universities across the globe, and a “staff issue” in the fall which includes reviews and interviews by our own staff. Throughout the year, you’re also welcome to write reviews and conduct interviews which will be published on the CJLC website.
We’re also trying to hold more events on campus.
Q: Is CJLC a lit mag?
A: No! Instead of publishing creative writing, we publish critical writing — writing that engages with theory and criticism.
Q: What is the time commitment?
A: We usually meet once a week for no more than one hour. You are expected to participate in the editing process of the two issues and to contribute at least 1-2 pieces of writing (reviews/interviews) throughout the year.
Q: What is literary criticism?
A: Good question! Maybe the world is a text?