We are excited to announce the June 2019 publication of the second issue of The Delacorte Review, a new, one-of-a-kind literary review based at the Columbia Journalism School that helps readers understand how to report and craft first-rate works of narrative non-fiction. The new issue features stories by alumni of Columbia's Master of Arts, Master of Science, and Part-Time Master of Science programs.
Under the direction of founder and publisher Michael Shapiro, a professor of journalism at Columbia, The Delacorte Review appears in online editions three times a year. Every issue features five original works of ambitious narrative nonfiction, each with an accompanying podcast that takes listeners through the story of the creation of the article, explaining why writers needed to tell their stories, what obstacles they encountered, and how they overcame them.
Four Columbia Journalism School alumni published original stories in the Review's second issue, which is focused on the theme of Silence, asking: "when is it a virtue to be silent and when is it a curse?"
The alumni authors featured in the Review's second issue are:
- Selin Thomas, a 2016 graduate of the Master of Arts Program's Politics Concentration, who wrote "A Haunting," about the 1892 lynching of four men, a small southern backwater, and a reporter confronted with the reflections of the past. Listen to her discuss the story behind the story here.
- Natasha Rodriguez, a 2018 graduate of the Master of Science Program and The Delacorte Review's Associate Editor, who wrote "Mi Realidad: Cuban Rap Struggles to be Heard," about how, today, young Cuban rappers can perform publicly—so long as the government approves and as long as the lyrics don’t complain too much about life on the island. Listen to her discuss the story behind the story here.
- Lauren Harris, a 2019 graduate of the Master of Science Program and class valedictorian, who wrote "The Moral Complexity of Sioux County, Iowa," about how, in a small Iowa town in the heart of Steve King’s congressional district, a woman wrote a letter to her local paper, complaining about his racist remarks, and started a chain of events that makes her wonder about how much there is wisdom in silence. Listen to her discuss the story behind the story here.
- Robert W. Fieseler, a 2013 graduate of the Part-Time Master of Science Program and author of the award-winning book Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation, who wrote "High Falls: A Human Chain," the story of a promising young man who took his own life in a public way and a young journalist who, believing it is his job to tell what happened, discovers that people would rather not know. Listen to him discuss the story behind the story here.
Veteran journalist Paul D. Colford also contributed the story "When We Stopped at the Water," about how, forty-eight years ago, four high school friends set off on a road trip and only three returned. For all those years since, they did not talk about it - until now. Listen to the story behind his story here.
We hope that you will learn more about the work and craft that go into writing excellent narrative nonfiction by reading and listening to current and upcoming Delacorte Review content. We also hope that, in the future, you might be able to submit your own story to this groundbreaking publication.
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