The Santa Barbara Literary Journal (SBLJ) has always been a source of creativity and community, and that continues with its latest edition, released in September, under the leadership of new Editor-in-Chief Maryanne Knight.
Founded in 2017 at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, SBLJ was first produced in 2018 by Angela Borda, spotlighting writers, poets, artists, and songwriters from Santa Barbara County and beyond. With its 12th edition, with a theme titled “Superposition: Exploring the Ambiguity of Life, Love, and Death,” the SBLJ has continued its legacy as a local treasure trove consisting of many different inspiring works.
For Knight, who has been with the journal since the second issue, taking on the editor-in-chief position was as much personal as it was professional. “I liked the community it supported,” she said, “and I wanted to be a part of it. When the journal’s founder decided she wanted to move onto other things, she offered it to me. There was a lot of death in my life at the time and the grief was overwhelming. The journal was something I could keep alive. So, I said ‘yes.’”
Knight has a clear vision for the future of the SBLJ: to increase readership and to continue to promote new and local authors and artists while adding more international contributors. The team is also working to expand their digital content and presence. Alongside Knight on the editorial team are Zachary Murdock, Nicholas Deitch, Frederick Williams, and Calla Gold.
As for the theme, Knight wanted to continue the tradition of using a song or album title as inspiration, selecting Young the Giant’s song “Superposition.” “I liked that superposition means different things in different fields, from quantum mechanics to geology to electrical engineering. And then there’s the song itself, which is a love song.” Knight described this theme as not something she chose so much as something that “came to [her] and stuck.”
That sense of multiplicity in meaning resonated throughout the issue’s works. “‘Ten Minutes’ by Barrett Valentine really captures that unmeasured state where it feels like anything can be possible,” she shared. “We also have some amazing love stories that tap into the musical inspiration, such as ‘Three Examples of Reaction’ by Dan Berick.” There were so many brilliant submissions that Knight and her team have enough content to span at least two issues.
As for the collaboration with featured artist David Anderson, Knight shared that it was more of a discovery than a collaboration. “David and I have a mutual friend who knew I was looking for art, and she sent me photos of several of David’s paintings. As soon as I saw the flames, I knew I wanted it for the cover,” she said. “There was something primal about it. Inside, it’s very dark, with the flames dancing against the blackness, but when you take it outside into the sun, all these colors pop out that you couldn’t see inside but were there all along.”
A release party and reading of the issue is planned for 3 p.m. on October 18 at Tecolote Bookstore in Montecito. For more information, visit santabarbaraliteraryjournal.org.
