Interview
Dr. Kim Jacobs- Beck
What has been your involvement with East Fork Journal over the years?
I have not been directly involved with East Fork in terms of editorial work, but I have encouraged students to submit and attended quite a few launch parties. Most importantly, I was the chair of the English, Languages and Fine Arts Department when Professor Reeves began the journal, so I helped her get the necessary approvals and funding to start East Fork.
How have you seen the journal change/evolve?
I think technology is a big factor; the possibilities for digital creativity have grown quite a bit since the start, and student contributors have embraced those creative options. The addition of the High School Writing Contest was also a great way for the journal to grow; it’s a good avenue for reaching out to the local community and making a connection with possible future UCC students. Beyond that, young writers need encouragement, and nothing is more encouraging than winning a writing contest. I love seeing the winners, and often their family members, at the launch parties. As a poet myself, I remember how it felt to have those experiences when I was in high school. Thanks to all of the student editors, contributors, Professors Reeves and Alcantar, and UC Clermont for sustaining East Fork Journal over the years.
Kim Jacobs-Beck is a Professor of English, teaching composition and literature at Clermont since 2001. She has a Ph.D. in 18th and 19th-century British literature from Miami University and an MFA in in creative writing (poetry) also from Miami. She is the author of several articles on Romantic literature, of numerous book reviews, as well as poems recently published in The Museum of Americana journal, Great Lakes Review, and West Trestle Review. She is also the author of a poetry chapbook, Torch. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Milk & Cake Press, a nonprofit publisher of poetry books. She also serves as Clermont's assessment coordinator.