Behind the Masthead: Editors at Work

When we're not reading, we're writing. This is where the magic happens.

"This chair was my husband's grandpa's.  The sun hits it perfectly in the late afternoon and I just sink in and scribble away before everyone else gets home at night.  At least one dog is usually around to lay on my feet and its close to the record player so I can be swallowed up by tunes while I work." -Chelsea H., Editor

"I bought this desk for $5 dollars at a surplus store, and the typewriter was the best goodwill find in my own personal history of thrifting. The desk faces East and overlooks the McDowell Mountain Range from my 3rd floor patio. The desk has a shelf underneath that holds my space heater for chilly nights - also, my cat, Thesis, loves hide there and fall asleep on the cool metal." - Kyle B., Poetry Editor

"I was going to post a picture of my desk, with its incense holder and neat pile of books and potted cacti and shaded lamp, but this feels way more honest. More often than not, I do my writing on the dining room table - one of my housemates barely visible behind a messy pile of overdo library books, a full bag of snacks close by (usually less respectable than pretzels), a pen "borrowed" from my latest hotel stay on hand, and one of my housemates' many pets stalking behind my laptop screen." - Dana D., Editor

"'Isn't the exterior an old intimacy lost in the shadow of memory?' -Gaston Bachelard" - Alex M., International Editor

"My workspace is in the living area of my apartment. I'm usually crosslegged on the small sofa typing away. I love this comfy spot because of its natural lighting, bright colors and my chirpy parakeet who sits by the window." - Jackie B., Poetry Editor

"This cozy space, nestled in the comforting bosom of my television, serves as my central writing zone, or WriteZone. To keep this brief I'll stick to an inventory of the present: a desk procured from the freshly-soaped back alley of a Christian university; a chair mined from a Xerox subsidiary--well worn in the pivotal places; a lamp and shade with unknown origins; roughly 84 unread Cease & Desist letters from local delis concerning an undisclosed personal matter; and one cat--a known associate and a cappella partner of a myriad of local shelter-bound street cats." - Gary G., Prose Editor

"My workspace is in my living room. The desk has a fake marble top. I got a nice deal on it from the furniture store I bought it from because it was damaged, but it's nothing you can see from the picture. I always keep candy at my desk, mostly to hand out to people that I ignore when I'm done ignoring them, but I also occasionally will have a piece. There are two pictures above my desk. One is a picture of a plant and is framed. One is a portrait a DJ did of me at a party. The portrait is done on a small paper plate. The fake tree in the corner is paramount to me sitting down to do anything at the desk for any significant amount of time. I like to pretend I can harness some kind of creative energy from it." - Dustin P., Editor

Behind the Masthead: Chelsea Hickok, Managing Editor

Our inscrutable Managing Editor Chelsea Hickok has given us a look into her position at HFR and a few tidbits about herself as well. In this interview we will get a look at what it takes to assemble a body of work into a gleaming literary journal.

Leslie Verdugo: Chelsea, can you tell me about your responsibilities as managing editor for HFR?

Chelsea Hickok: I take care of the more logistical part of the journal. I’m the one who gets in contact with the contributors to send them publication agreements and to get their bios. I also construct the master list and go through print bids to get the journal made.

LV: You really have your hands in the journal’s creation. How long have you been with the magazine now?

CH: Since last fall, and I only did second reads then. I then filled out an application for my current position, answered a few essay questions, and here I am.

LV: Did you have experience for your current position?

CH: I mostly learned as I went along.

LV: Nice. So when you were a reader for the journal did you have a certain pet peeve or something you looked out for in a story?

CH: I tended to avoid content based on the college perspective because we all have a pretty good idea of what college is like. Also there seemed to be a lot of cancer stories during my time, which I found hard to get into beyond just knowing the author wanted me to be sad.

LV: Right, there was more focus on the fact that they are victims rather than humans.

CH: Yeah, exactly.

LV: What year are you in now, Chelsea?

CH: I am now in my second year as a graduate student in the MFA fiction program.

LV: Is there anything you are focused on in your writing right now?

CH: I’m exploring the idea of food as it relates to the human experience. Right now I’m working on a story of a man in search of pelican meat.

LV: Wow, that’s an awesome topic to focus on, and the story sounds like it’s going to be an interesting read. Do you plan on staying with HFR?

CH: Yes, I do. I plan on applying for Editor next semester, and with the new staff we are planning on reimagining the journal.

LV: That’s pretty exciting! Speaking of exciting did you do anything fun this summer?

CH: I went on a road trip to Seattle with my man and a puppy named Wally short for Walter Pepercorn Peanut.  We also call him Walnut.

LV: That’s adorable. I have also been meaning to ask, what is the tattoo on your shoulder of? I can never get a good look at it.

CH: It’s the 1978 cover art for Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse. It’s a book a come back to year after year, always taking away something new and illuminating about the human condition.

LV: I see, well thank you for your time and for the insight Chelsea!

______________________________________________________

Chelsea Hickok is working towards her MFA in Fiction Writing at ASU.  She is currently the Managing Editor of Hayden's Ferry Review.