in parentheses

When You Write It, Put It In Parentheses

By debuting a new literary magazine, the Boston University duo of Phillipe Chatelain (CAS ‘13) and Michael Pitter (CAS ‘12) are attempting to preserve their generation’s artistic and literary impact post Post-Modernism.

While the majority of today’s college students are known for the posing logistical questions such as “What’s the next big app?” and “How can a company maximize its profits?” another group of young intellectuals united by In Parentheses, a self-published literary magazine, is asking a question with a far more complex answer. “What comes after Post-Modernism?” “Our main goal is to iron out the differences between art and media. We believe in providing a space where the currently creative can place themselves in the conversation with the historically creative, and where art and news are of equal importance,” clarified Phillipe Chatelain, 21, Co-Founder of In Parentheses and an English major at Boston University.

In Parentheses began in late 2011 after Chatelain met fellow English major Michael Pitter, 22, in Professor Christopher Martin’s History of Literary Criticism course at Boston University. The duo shared a passion for what Pitter explained as “the evolution of taste and how notions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ in art shifted through time.” Their endeavor began with a musical effort that experimented with different genres and sounds—and before they knew it they had transitioned onto a literary journey.  Chatelain reminisced, “After a couple of weeks making some music, we got really excited and decided to put together a compilation album to show to C. Martin at the end of the term as a sort of homage to him. When we came up with the name In Parentheses we were sitting in the Warren dining hall trying to think of names for our ‘album.’” The album was called ‘The Christopher Martin Affair’ and we decided to make a band name. Within a few minutes, it just dawned on us, In Parentheses…and the rest is history. Speaking of history, we both ended up getting A’s in the class, and the teacher got a kick out of our music.”

Today In Parentheses has seven consistent contributing writers and has published over 50 one-time submitting authors. The distribution of young writers’ pieces falls in the genre of “sublime art” which, according to the IP website, is meant to promote forward intellectual thought and interpretation of the world amongst young people. Garth Mramor, 21, a student at SUNY Binghamton and a contributing writer shared his hopes for IP, “I like the idea of creating a network of writers, so that’s why I’m a part of IP. I hope one day we can create a vast network of writers…I don’t think my personal involvement will bring this about, and I don’t think any single person’s involvement can. I just hope that in the years ahead we move toward that idea.”

In Parentheses released their second self-published quarterly issue October 1^st of this year through Hewlett-Packard’s MagCloud. MagCloud provides readers with an option to purchase a hard copy of the magazine or to download a free PDF of the issue; In Parentheses’ method of distribution is a further testament to the idea that it is much less a magazine for profit and much more for thought.

Jessica Gawrych, 20, a student at Boston University, is living proof that the students involved with this publication while gaining exposure, are not driven by it. She shared, “Through my involvement with IP, I seek to improve my work and challenge the standards I’ve previously set for myself. I hope I can expand my ability as a writer while also define the style and voice of my work to make it reflect a more intimate version of myself.” The writers at IP have built something unique based in a support system of mutual respect and value; multiple writers refused to pinpoint favorite pieces or authors in a stand for a collective appreciation of every single piece published.

In Parentheses, by using its writers’ wide array of poems, creative writings, editorials and multimedia compositions, is looking to expand, not only in its endeavor as a publication but the minds of their readers as well.