Students published in Queen City Writers

University of North Georgia (UNG) students Hannah Eckerman and Devin Marshall, '23, had work published in Queen City Writers, an online source showcasing student writing. The journal is housed at the University of Cincinnati.

"Both students had originally written their work in one of my classes. I pointed them to several undergraduate journals where they could try and have their stuff published because they both wrote just great and unique work," Dr. Michael Rifenburg, professor of English, said.

Eckerman is a senior from Waynesboro, Georgia, pursuing a degree in English with a literature concentration. Marshall earned a degree in psychology and a minor in English.

"I had the goal of having one paper published before graduating with my undergraduate degree. This achievement has brought a new level of confidence to my writing, and I look forward to hopefully having more papers published in the future," Eckerman said. 

Her submission, "The ancient Hebrew Chiasm: A window into culturally significant themes," describes chiasm, an ancient Hebrew linguistic structure and how it was used to explore themes that were significant to the culture. In her paper, Eckerman analyzed several chiastic examples from the Hebrew Tanakh (the Old Testament) and explained how scholars used the chiasm as a rhetorical tool. 

"Victor Villanueva's Bootstraps: From an academic of color playlist" was submitted by Marshall, a Cumming, Georgia, resident.

"My submission to Queen City Writers was a combination of my love for music and writing all in one piece. In Dr. Rifenburg's courses, he instills creativity and freedom for his students with his writing prompts, which is often unheard of," Marshall said. "This serves as a space for growth in education rather than the strict guidelines that students are so often faced with.”

Marshall said his writing highlights some of his favorite artists and features an actual playlist where readers can listen to the songs while reading the corresponding excerpts from Villanueva's piece.