Understory is an annual publication of undergraduate writing sponsored by the Department of Creative Writing and Literary Arts at UAA. Its purposes are to showcase the best creative work of UAA students and to provide opportunities for students to gain practical experience in all aspects of producing a magazine.
Understory is more than just a printed magazine, however.
Understory also organizes the Poetry Out Loud High School Challenge, a community outreach partnership with southcentral Alaska high schools. Poetry Out Loud culminates in annual spoken word event in which high school students share their poems.
In 2003, Understory held the first annual Word Workshops for high school student. These workshops reached high school students who may be writers, but might not have the desire to stand up in front of a room and perform their work in Poetry Out Loud.
In the coming years, we hope to do even more with Understory -- develop a campus radio program featuring local writers, bring writing to campus through broadsides, the sky's the limit, really. Get involved and help us grow.