Missouri Western's Literary and Arts Journal
Canvas's story begins in the spring of 2004. The prior student literary journal, Icarus, had been eliminated in 2000 when new faculty decided to create a national literary journal in its place. After those faculty left, Dr. Bill Church was appointed to edit the national magazine, The Mochila Review.
Dr. Church encouraged student staff members of The Mochila Review to create a new journal dedicated to publishing only current students, alumni, staff, and faculty, with a primary emphasis on student work. Dr. Church agreed to serve as Canvas's faculty advisor, and he led the students in authoring a grant funded by the MWSU Foundation. Annual publication has been continuous since 2004 thanks to generous support from the MWSU Foundation.
Since 2014, Canvas's new faculty advisor is Dr. Marianne Kunkel. The production of Canvas represents an Applied Learning experience for student staff members, many of whom are enrolled in ENG 395: The Making of Contemporary Literature, which produces The Mochila Review. The staff encourages submissions of original writing and art year-round, with a rolling deadline in mid-February. In late April a public reception and reading is held on campus to celebrate the new edition of Canvas.
Since its inception more than a decade ago, hundreds of MWSU students have received their first publication in Canvas and scores of students have gained valuable, real-world publishing experiences on staff.