Common Forms is now accepting submissions for Issue III. This issue’s theme is DIY, and the submissions window closes February 21st end of day.
“Do it yourself:” what does the phrase bring up for you? Is it an aesthetic signifier? Something hashtaggable? Maybe you understand D.I.Y. as a repurposing act? Or is it radical creation distinct from institutional pollutants? Alternatively, is it even possible to ever totally divorce creative material from its original context? There is not one correct answer to these questions. What DIY is, by its nature, is for you to define for yourself.
For Issue III of Common Forms, we’re looking for work that explores the theme of “doing it yourself” and all its simultaneous potentials and pitfalls. By refusing to limit the journal’s focus to one specific era, medium, or genre, we hope to encourage you to do the work yourself, as it were, and show us how D.I.Y. can materialize throughout history and across forms.
Though we encourage creative and critical submissions to take the prompt in any supported direction, here are some keywords that DIY generates for us:
- Individualism
- Community
- Organization
- Originality
- Remix
- Repurpose
- Recreate
- Reimage
- Contort
- Complicate
- Cross-Discipline
- Labor
- Self production
- Amateurism
- Expertise
Submissions might include:
- Academic Papers (10 pages maximum, single-spaced)
- Poetry (5 poems maximum)
- Short Fiction
- Nonfiction
- Reviews (cinema and media/ fine art/ books)
- Visual Art
- Musical Compositions (15-minute maximum)
- Short Films (15-minute maximum)
***If your piece exceeds the limits specified here, please send an excerpt.
Format for submissions:
- Title of your piece.
- A 150-200 word abstract. If your submission is not a traditional academic paper, please summarize the intent of your work.
- A 2-3 sentence author bio
- A polished draft of your complete piece as a Microsoft Word document (if AV, please use MP4 format) sent to commonforms@lists.uchicago.edu.
- *** If your piece is in a foreign language, please attach supplements that will make your work accessible to an English-speaking audience (ex. paragraph reflection, translation, subtitles, etc.)
We look forward to receiving your submissions.
— Common Forms