The Nassau Literary Review

02/10/2024

On Oct. 23, 2023, the Nassau Literary Review hosted its 181st Anniversary Conference, which interrogated diversity and representation in NassLit and Princeton’s literary history and was based on an archival research project.

Featuring faculty speakers, readings, and alumni panels, the conference explored topics of race and gender diversity while spotlighting the creative work of Princeton students from traditionally underrepresented groups. How can the written word be used as a tool to reveal differences and promote social equity?

Read more about it here! https://english.princeton.edu/events/nassau-literary-review-181st-anniversary-conference

03/03/2023

NLR wishes you a happy Friday!

This week’s poem is “Leila Loved the Streets” by Tamara Spitzer-Hobeika ‘10. A note from our historian: “The intricate relationship between the poem’s central ‘femme’ and the city comes to the fore through the nuanced variation of each of the stanzas.”

24/02/2023

This weeks poem of the week is “Haircuts” by Lisa-Marie Priddy ‘95

Our historian states, “The contrast between the two sections of this poem raise an interesting question about memory and appearance: can the narrator’s haircut really stop their memories of him, or, like in the first stanza, will the images stay forever?”

The NLR hopes you all have an amazing and restful weekend!

Reminder : The deadline for submissions is this upcoming Monday!!

24/02/2023

This weeks poem of the week is “Haircuts” by Lisa-Marie Pride ‘95

Our historian states, “The contrast between the two sections of this poem raise an interesting question about memory and appearance: can the narrator’s haircut really stop their memories of him, or, like in the first stanza, will the images stay forever?”

The NLR hopes you all have an amazing and restful weekend!

Reminder : The deadline for submissions is this upcoming Monday!!

19/02/2023

We are excited to announce that the Nassau Literary Review 2023 winter edition, “Solace” is now available on our website!
https://www.nasslit.com

Go check out some of the amazing poems, artwork, fiction and nonfiction writings!
Also remember that there is still 8 more days to make a submission for our next edition!

14/02/2023

The Nassau Literary Review
IS SEEKING ORIGINAL WORK FOR ITS
Spring 2023 Issue
PROSE ✷ POETRY ✷ VISUAL ART
Each fall and spring, we take submissions for our biannual print issue which features the best student prose, poetry, photography, art & more on campus.
Submissions are open from
NOW until Feb. 27th @ 11:59 PM.

• All work should be submitted to [email protected], with the subject line “Submission: [Genre],” replacing [Genre] with “Poetry,” “Fiction,” “Nonfiction,” or “Art.”

10/02/2023

The NLR hopes you guys had an amazing second week of school!

This weeks poem is “Jones Beach on a Windy Afternoon” by Edward Kissam(‘96).

Here is a note from our historian:
“This poem is a delightful read on a beautiful day like today - the beautiful imagery of the afternoon Sun amongst the waves is complemented by an interesting structure that gives a stirring sense of movement to the lines. “

We hope you all enjoy this lovely weather!

03/02/2023

The NLR is excited to share our first Poem of the Week for this semester! Today’s poem is “Continental Drift” by Margaret Talcott ’86.

A note from our historian: “This poem has a captivating progression in scale: Talcott uses her initial images of planetary renewal to mirror her home’s features. Her cellar rooms and shelfs may be smaller than the continents, but they nevertheless hold just as much—or perhaps even more—meaning to her.”

10/12/2022

NLR wishes you a happy Friday with our next Poem of the Week!

Today’s poem is “Villians Don't Blink” by Rosanna Da Costa '06, published in NLR January 2004.

A note from our historian: “The direct phrasing of this narrator’s self-sufficiency seems a good reminder for the rest of us—villains or not—to look for places where we can find our own joy and excitement even as the end of the semester grows busier.”

19/11/2022

The Nassau Literary Review is reintroducing our Poem of the Week! Every Friday, we will post a poem from our archives—our collection of previous NLR publications dating back to 1842! Be sure to visit our Instagram each week to read work by current Princeton students and alumni.

Today’s poem is “A Letter” by Terri Riendeau ‘82, translated from the Russian of Viktor Sosnora (published in NLR March 1982)

A note from our 2022-2023 historian: “This poem has a compelling interplay between dynamic and static imagery—birds on the cusp of flight contrast lillies and steeples left behind. I find the closing image in the last stanza to be beautifully complemented by the delicate phrasing of the translator, and has stuck with me even after reading.”

13/10/2022

Princeton Alumni and Students—Submit to The Nassau Literary Review!

Our 2022 deadline has been EXTENDED until Wednesday, October 19th. NLR is officially accepting original poetry, prose, photography, and art submissions until 11:59PM on 10/19, including alumni work.**

•Selected writing and visual art will be published in our Winter 2023 print issue
•Visit nasslit.com/submit for guidelines
•We’re excited to consider your work!

**Alumni submitters, please include ALUMNI in the subject line of your submission email

29/04/2022

10/04/2022

Poem of the Week: “The Amateur Astronomer,” by Michael M. Fried, ‘59

Published in the April 1956 issue of The Nassau Literary Review.

“The nightlife outside that warmer weather brings, the sights and sounds of spring—it’s April sky in the form of a poem.”

01/04/2022

To kick of National Poetry Month, read Nass Lit’s Poem of the Week: “A woman and the Beberibe river,” translated from the Portuguese of Joao Cabral de Melo Neto by Madeleine Picciotto ‘78 in the March 1979 issue of the Nassau Literary Review.

A note from our historian:
“There’s an intentionality of sound and language in this piece that is not lost in translation. I’m struck by the contrast between spatial and temporal that parallels a geographical system—slow versus impulsive, weak versus young, full versus growing. Is time movement? Is space stillness (i.e. a stationary spread)? Are they mutually inclusive in the tide?”

21/03/2022

Nass Lit is excited to announce the “Poem of Week” 🎉 Each week, we’ll be sharing a poem from our archives, 1842-present.

Stop by our website and IG to read a weekly poem curated by our historian, and get a sampling of the incredible work Nass Lit has published since its inaugural issue.

This week’s poem is “Ancestor” by Ana Istrate, from the March 2013 issue.

“Short and concise, profound but subliminal—one week after the switch to daylight saving time, and the exhaustion that follows, this poem felt particularly apt.”

18/03/2022

Calling all writers and artists!

The Nassau Literary Review is currently open to submissions for our second annual National Undergraduate Art & Writing Contest, judged by Anya Pearson (poetry), Mark Thomas Gibson (art), and Sophie Gee (prose). We are open to submissions from all undergraduates at U.S. institutions.

The deadline is March 31, 2022, and submissions will be accepted via email at [email protected]. Full guidelines can be found at https://www.nasslit.com/contest. Winners will be notified in mid-May and invited to read their work during our virtual Annual Literary Festival, which is open to the public, on May 27, 2022.

National Undergraduate Art & Writing Contest 2022GuidelinesThe Nassau Literary Review is thrilled to announce the second year of our national art and writing contest! We are honored to be joined by our Hodder Fellows, Anya Pearson and Mark Thomas Gibson, and Professor Sophie Gee as our guest poetry,...

31/01/2022

You know what time it is… 🤩

Time to submit to NassLit’s Spring Issue! Send your original prose, poetry, and art to [email protected] before midnight on Feb 14th - we can’t wait to see your fabulous work!

To learn more about our submission guidelines, visit our website (link in bio). 🎨

24/09/2021

Calling all writers and artists! 🤩

It’s that time of year again! Submit your original poetry, prose, and art to NassLit’s Winter 2022 Issue before 11:59pm on October 8th! 📝

All submission guidelines are posted on our website, nasslit.com! 🎨

We can’t wait to read your work!

21/06/2021

Love history? Love poetry? 🤔

Then you’ll adore this incredible new essay by Staff Writer Katie Rohrbaugh ‘24!

“Though Byzantium is no longer, Logan manages to muster much of its allure and power with a few lines of poetry. Enchanting lines fixated on changing physical appearances piece together a material account of Logan’s journey through the city and the various historical sites he has visited. Yet, there is a tangible spiritual aspect to these pieces, as if one should only read them in whispers. As Logan would likely attest to, time will continue moving, but ‘Fall of Byzantium’ will surely remind its audience of the history it leaves behind.”

Read more on our website!

14/06/2021

Mozart, anyone? 🎶

Music enthusiasts and curious novices alike will love Kelsey Wang ‘24’s exploration of the portrayal of Mozart in art.

“The story of Mozart is romanticized to such an extent that all courage, passion, hope, love, envy, pain, cowardice, hatred, and life are lived to the fullest. Even in death, all is sublimated into an optimistic message – We will finally know the meaning of our lives. Love! and Freedom!”

Read the full article on our website!

09/06/2021

We’re hungry already... 😋

Aditi Desai ‘24’s newest essay unpacks Michelle Obama’s educational (and undeniably delicious) Netflix show, Waffles + Mochi.

“Although the show reflects Obama’s enduring mission of alleviating childhood obesity by encouraging diverse, nutritious choices, Waffles + Mochi goes one step beyond Obama’s campaign by confronting topics which many people, even adults, shy away from—topics which exceed the boundaries of food and enter conversations about water scarcity, ethnic stereotyping, and disability inclusion. In a broader sense, the show demonstrates how political campaigns can be—and are—brought into children’s everyday lives through media in a way that is not only engaging, but also educationally cognizant....”

Read the full review on our website!

07/06/2021

Your summer reading is here! 🧭

Explore the incredible secrets of maps in staff writer Benjamin Guzovsky’s newest essay, now available on our website!
📚
“Everything is simplified and streamlined, engineered to be easily digestible. Keep wondering—keep questioning what’s beneath the surface of all the things we take for granted.”
📚
Stay tuned for more essays from our incredible staff!

10/05/2021

Save the date! 🎉

Join us from May 17th-21st for our first virtual NassLit Festival: Metamorphoses! Attend readings, writing workshops, interviews, and more, celebrating a year of transformative art-making with the changemakers of the literary world.

Learn more about the festival HERE: https://www.nasslit.com/festival

We can’t wait to see you there!

23/04/2021

The Nassau Literary Review, the oldest publication at Princeton University, features the best fiction, poetry, and art created by Princeton's undergraduate students. But making the publication each semester is, too, a work of art.

For Princeton Arts Alumni’s new multimedia initiative, On Craft and Process, Nass Lit Design Editor Riya Singh '23 reflected on her experience creating Nass Lit's Winter 2021 issue, “From the Crucible.” Check out her essay at the link in our bio.

10/04/2021

The Nassau Literary Review is thrilled to announce the inception of our first national writing competition. We are honored to be joined by our Lewis Center for the Arts Fellows, Danez Smith and Nyssa Chow as our guest poetry and prose judges, respectively.

This competition is open to any undergraduate student currently studying at a U.S. institution. Students on gap years, whether before or during their undergraduate education, are also eligible.

Submissions will be open till 30 April, 2021. Submissions will be accepted till 11:59pm EST on the closing day. Winners will be notified in mid May; results will be announced on our website and during our Spring 2021 Issue launch on May 16, the eve of our festival. Winners will be invited to read their work during our virtual Annual Literary Festival, which is open to the public, on May 21, 2021.

Read more about the contest and our submission guidelines HERE: https://www.nasslit.com/festival