Long-time no see, Prometheus

Have you heard of Prometheus: the Olympian trickster god who stole the concept of fire from the gods themselves, and bestowed it upon the human race? Well, this year, the creative writing class is bestowing a gift of their own to the student body. This comes in the form of a lit-mag, similarly titled Prometheus. So, what exactly is it? Let’s ask Mrs. Hintz, the teacher currently in charge of the creative writing club.

“I love to teach and incorporate creative writing assignments into my classes. I used to advise a Lit Mag in Idaho where I taught many years ago. The students loved these magazines and would read through them over and over. Later, when my daughter, Claire, was in middle school she loved to write. So, I volunteered to help kids at BMS create Lit Mags each year. These were just photocopied booklets, but they still generated excitement. When she came to high school, she took Creative Writing in her senior year. The class published a magazine called The Vault, but it was only for the students in the class. At some point, I learned about the long-standing tradition of Prometheus, which invited the entire student body to write and enter submissions. I always wondered why the magazine faded away. I figured this year was a great year to try to bring it back.”, the English teacher says. Not only does she want to bring it back, but she wants the project to grow to something greater, gaining talented writers as the years go on. With the help of Mrs. Bowes, she even wants to include visual art pieces.

This project is nothing new, but unless you’ve been around since 2011, it's highly unlikely that you remember it. When asked why she thinks the project has gone dormant for so many years, Mrs. Hintz noted, “I believe it is because the last person to advise it retired. Mr. Sam Bidleman left the school in 2011, and since then the magazine has been dormant.”. Even with the passing of the torch, Mrs. Hintz won’t let the retired advisors of Prometheus be forgotten. She plans to honor them with a series of prizes, each named after a proponent of the magazine. The Bonham award is dedicated to a retired BHS art teacher, Richard Bonham, who was the first art teacher to advocate for Prometheus. The award will go to the best art piece submitted. The Beierschmitt Writing Award is dedicated to former BHS English teacher, John Beierschmitt, who was the first to advise Prometheus. The award will go to the best writing piece submitted. She plans to include an editor’s choice award (a 3rd place overall award. She also referenced including honors to other retired teachers, such as Sam Bidleman and Mark Jones. The pieces are going to be judged by a panel of judges from both the creative writing class and members of the creative writing club.

The magazine has about 24 pages to work with, but Hintz doesn’t believe it’ll be a herculean task to fill them. The teacher commented, “There is a genuine interest among people who like to write outside of the typical assignments for school. It is an awesome feeling to see your work in print. I am hoping, once we announce the call for submissions, that we will get a bunch of pieces.” She plans to advertise the project with posters, as well as sending creative writing students to homerooms with submission forms before winter break.

So, BHS, look out for the lit-mag in the spring of 2024. And if you feel so bold, you can even submit something of your own. The entire student body is encouraged to submit their work for this year’s theme, which will likely be “Deep, Dark, and Dangerous”. The magazine will be available free of charge to any student who would like one.