This year's edition of Augustana's literary magazine, Venture, is exploring the subversive with their theme of "Speak."

"‘Speak" means providing a venue for students to discover and showcase their creative voices in raw, evocative and ultimately powerful ways," Venture editor and senior Dani Doran said.  "The works you'll find in Venture target very real, troubling issues facing both students and the global community, from war, to the devastation left in the wake of natural disasters, to poverty around the globe."

Doran and fellow editor junior Leah Hilsabeck wanted use to art as a means to challenge social injustices in the world.

"For me, it is the very essence of art – expression," Hilsabeck said. "We do not write unless there is something that needs to be heard, so for Augustana's Sesquicentennial, Dani and I wanted a theme that celebrated the Venture's most important function: a place to speak."

Some of the topics of this year's submissions include the viewing of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, sending a loved one to fight in Iraq and witnessing the poverty of India.

"These works are a testament to the transformation of words on a page into meaningful action in the world," Doran said.

Venture is published once a year and features student work in the areas of poetry, short story, personal essay, photography and art. All students have the option of submitting two pieces of work for judgment. The top three in each category were picked by Doran and Hilsabeck and then given to faculty judges to decide final placement.

Faculty judges include Sandra Looney (poetry), Dan Workman (short story), David O'Hara (personal essay), Janet Blank-Libra (photography) and Lindsay Twa (art).

"The entries that rose above the rest were those that beautifully, if at times painfully, articulated the trials and triumphs that confronted these students as they dealt with issues such as war, poverty, divorce and death," Doran said.

Senior Christine Bergeson was one of the 19 students who submitted work for submission. Bergeson was also featured in last year's Venture and thinks it is a good opportunity to be recognized among peers.

"It is a pretty cool feeling to read your work amongst others," Bergeson said.

This year, Bergeson submitted two short stories that she wrote for a fiction class earlier this year.

"I think it's a great encouragement for young writers and people who want to be creative," Bergeson said "It's good for Augustana to show the talent we have on campus."

Junior Dawn Wille submitted in the arts category. She created a statue of Ole out of plastic canvas.

"It's non-traditional," Wille said. "It's not a painting and it's not a drawing and it's not something you see a lot."

This year's winners will be announced at the roll-out party at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 29 in the Back Alley. The party will also feature an open-mic, poetry reading and musical entertainment.

Venture provides a platform to showcase the creative talents of Augustana students, allowing their work to reach a wider audience than simply a professor or a classroom," Doran said. "This publication affords students the opportunity to not only explore the boundless realm of their imagination and creative expertise, but the experiences that have shaped them and the impacts they've made as well."