Dedicated to the interdisciplinary humanities, Melange, a Journal of Prose Poetry and the Arts, hopes to showcase works of literature and art that combine multiple forms, genres, and media — i.e. melanges. It will also accept creative and critical essays on such works.
Contemporary art and literature frequently play with established conventions by creating generative amalgamations, notes English graduate student Sylvia Onorato.
“We are living in a moment burgeoning with blended works, mixtures, and melanges,” Onoroto writes. “Still, this current trend has yet to be sufficiently explored and recognized in academia, even though composite genres such as prose poetry have been popular for well over a century.”
By founding Melange, a graduate student organization, Onorato and art and archaeology graduate student Dustin B. Chen hope to bring more in-depth awareness to these compositions and compile an archive for the enjoyment and education of all involved. Melange aims to vigorously combine the strengths of graduate and international scholars to produce a state-of-the-art forum, while extending membership and editorial opportunities to Princeton undergraduate students and cultivating an inclusive community for creative interchanges.
Melange invites graduate and undergraduate Princeton students to its inaugural open house on Dec. 9 from 4:30 to 6 pm at Art on Hulfish, and welcomes prospective editors, members, and contributors.
To learn more about the journal, listen to a discussion on melanges, or simply enjoy a relaxing evening mingling in an art gallery over light hors d'oeuvres, register on Melange's open house MyPrincetonU event page (login required).