IVCC’s literary/art journal River Currents to relaunch

Illinois Valley Community College’s River Currents literary journal is flowing again, revived from a pandemic slump and migrated online.

As a prelude to the publication’s relaunch, a special online issue representing the “lost years” during the COVID-19 pandemic was released this month, and students are working to produce the 2024 issue in April, which also will be online.

The journal is curated and designed by students and contains students’ stories, poetry and art. This year, it also will include its first-ever music composition.

The journal last was published in 2019. With the pandemic’s online learning phase and a slow return to campus and extracurricular activities, submissions slowed to a trickle in 2021 and 2022, and there was no publication.

Submissions picked up in 2023, and they were compiled with the so-called “lost years” into the special issue, River Currents adviser Tracy Lee said.

“The world slowed back down,” Lee said, adding that that led to a flood of submissions for the 2024 issue. “It’s hard to have the time to write or create for publication [during a crisis]. Those are luxuries.”

Recent compositions did not dwell on the pandemic, she said.

Lee said she is excited by River Currents’ comeback.

“Students need to be able to share what they have to say,” Lee said. “River Currents has always been a lasting record of IVCC talent.”

Similar to the college, the literary journal can trace its roots back a century. The student staff invites submissions from the student body for each spring publication. Print issues were distributed for free.

Moving to online content has its advantages, Lee said, because students can access the web’s electronic files easily for their portfolios.

She didn’t rule out future printed special issues or collections.

Graduates who submitted during the “lost years” were notified that their work would be published and included in the special issue. All contributors will be invited to a launch party from noon to 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 29 in C-316, where lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Lee said she’s happy to bring back the reception, which is another tradition.

Visit www.ivcc.edu/rc for more on River Currents.