By Natalie Riley
The first 'C' I received in college was for a midterm paper on American authors such as Benjamin Franklin for an American literature class. As boring as it was, I cared about my grade, and I vividly remember the wave of heat that washed over me, tears welling, and utter dismay. Frantic thoughts raced through my head like bullets through air, And I call myself an English major? I thought, only to console myself, — No, no— it is because I am creatively inclined, not academically… I must find a creative outlet on campus.
Fortunately, UC Santa Barbara is renowned not only for its brazen sun, temperate shores, and leisure atmosphere, but its plethora of organizations and clubs that cater to individual niches. For those like myself who are creatively inclined, the English Department offers a creative class called Catalyst Writing Collective, that publishes a literary arts magazine. The Catalyst is an all-accepting and inclusive, non-traditional class, and I am proud to say that I have been its Literature Co-Editor for the 2024-2025 academic year.
The Catalyst is a creative writing and visual art class, as well as one of UCSB’s few literary arts magazines. The course is offered every quarter to any UCSB students who wish to join the editorial team led by an Editor-in-Chief, a Managing Editor, Literature Editor, and an Assistant Editor. The class of approximately 25, “Catalytes,” produce one magazine in a 10-week period— a collection of often funky, absurd, and beautiful prose, poetry, short-stories, and visual art from both our own student work and outside submissions.
As a student-run class, the course requires high levels of engagement and organization in a hands-on, tactical manner that creates a wonderful balance between artistic collaboration and personal creativity. Both students and editors are expected to be prepared with the necessary materials, which are announced at the beginning of each week online, as The Catalyst is fast paced. We circle through units of writing, art, digital design, and small group productions of mini-zines or magazines, that culminate in 15-20 layouts which we present in class at the end of the eight week of the term.
UC Santa Barbara English major Natalie Riley is a 2024-2025 Literature Editor of The Catalyst, a literary magazine published by the university’s English Department, as part of a student-led course.
As a Literature Editor, I promote The Catalyst through social media, specifically Instagram, and accept outside submissions. On average, I filter through 150 outside submissions every 10 weeks, though I carefully select pieces that align with the magazine’s aesthetic typically accepting 10 to 15 pieces of writing by the fifth week. During class time, I’m primarily responsible to guide the students under my supervision since the class is divided into small groups of four to five students. This allows me to provide personalized feedback that increases likelihood that a student’s work will reach publication.
For the first three weeks of the course, students write intensively, responding to two writing prompts per week — for example, “What is America Craving?” During this period, class sessions are devoted to collaborative peer reviews when we exchange feedback and refine one another’s work, looking at form, flow, coherence, and “punchy-ness,” or creative interest. During Weeks 4 and 5, the class transitions into visual art, and students bring in artwork in varying mediums to accompany writing. This can range range from photos of a grassy field, to a sculpture of a skull— whatever creative whimsy students can imagine, we support.
The pairing of art and writing within The Catalyst is what we call “ekphrasis,” writing that works in harmony with visual art. Using Adobe Creative Cloud as our main platform, The Catalyst Literary Arts Magazine bridges writing, art, and technology. Editors guide students through InDesign, Lightroom, and Photoshop, teaching the ins and outs of these platforms while adhering to our style guide to create uniform and complementary magazine layouts.
A layout created by Literature Co-Editor Natalie Riley in Issue 34 of The Catalyst Literary Arts Magazine.
At the end of each 10-week term, the Catalyst editorial team hosts a public launch party with spoken word readings and food. This final event is a way to celebrate the artistry produced within a short, intensive period. The launch marks a milestone— students whose pieces were accepted read their work aloud for the first time, and see the finished magazine as their polished layouts come to life.
As someone who has been with The Catalyst as a student and an editor, I have gone through the full range of editorial experiences— and by far the most rewarding aspect is creative growth. The class teaches people to write, to create, and to improve. And whether one is a UCSB student or a creative spirit beyond campus, The Catalyst is a place where artistic expression is nurtured, challenged, and celebrated.
Natalie Riley is a third-year UCSB student majoring in English. She wrote this personal essay for her Digital Journalism class in the Writing Program.