Call for Submissions
Lucky Issue 13: Intuition vs. LogicWhen the average writer or artist considers modern mathematics, it may seem like there is little room for intuition in this field of hard evidence and theorems. However, up until the 1800s, the best mathematical minds first followed their gut instinct then backed it up with geometric explanations. This worked well enough, until the maturing science necessitated a staunch turn to rigor to support in-depth analysis of data. After strides were made in number theory in where real numbers were divided into algebraic and transcendental, and on the other hand, into rational and irrational, mathematics took an irreversible turn towards logic and away from intuition.1
While the turning point for mathematics clearly occurred in the 19th Century, literature and the fine arts may not have a direct boundary between intuition and logic. At what point in a project do you employ intuition and at what point logic? Do you feel that the two are competing intellectual forces? If and when intuition and logic intermingle, in what forms do they appear to you?
We invite submissions that investigate the relationship between intuition and logic either in process or in topic. How does the concept of intuition vs. logic inform your work? How does it affect any point of your creative process?
GENERAL GUIDELINES:
• We accept poetry, fiction, nonfiction, critical essays, and art
• Only critical essays and art are required to address the theme
• Only previously unpublished works
• We accept simultaneous submissions but please notify us immediately of acceptance elsewhere
• Send your submission(s) to submissions@swback.com
• Put the GENRE and TITLE of your submission in the subject line, e.g. FICTION: My Short Story
• Include your full name and email address in the body of the email
• Include your submission as an attachment
• Name the attachment the same as the title of the work, e.g. myshortstory.doc
• Do not include your name or any identifying information within the attachment. We do a blind selection process which means we consider all work without knowing who wrote it. Please do not insert a header or footer containing your name, and please do not include your name and contact information at the top of the document.
• The deadline for submissions is October 1, 2010
• Contributors to our previous two issues (ten and eleven) will not be considered
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS:
Poetry:
• Maximum 3 poems per writer
• Attach the poem(s) to ONE email as SEPARATE attachments that are named the title of the poem. This means if you're submitting 3 poems, there should be 3 attachments in your email.
• Poetry submissions are not required to address the theme
Prose:
• Maximum 1 story, nonfiction piece, or critical essay per writer
• We prefer prose works to be 2,000-2,500 words, but if you have something really good that's longer, we will consider it
• Fiction and nonfiction submissions are not required to address the theme
• Critical essays must address the theme "Minority vs. Majority"
• Send written submissions in .doc (preferred), .docx, or .rtf format
ART SUBMISSIONS:
• Must address the theme "Minority vs. Majority"
• Include an explanation of your piece and its relation to the theme in no more than 100 words
• Send submissions in .gif, .jpg, or .png format with a resolution of 300 dpi or higher
The thirteenth issue will be published in Spring 2011.
We will contact all submitters by the end of December, 2010 regarding whether or not their work has been accepted.
We look forward to reading your work!
Sincerely,
The SWITCHBACK Editorial Staff
SWITCHBACK is a publication of the Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program of the University of San Francisco, Aaron Shurin, Director.
SWITCHBACK is a forum for the writers of USF's MFA community, including alumni, students, and faculty, as well as the wider literary community, in the areas of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and critical essays.
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1 Andrews, Peter J. "A New Realm of Numbers." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 5: 1800 to 1899. Detroit: Gale, 2000. 221-223.
