Several talented writers read aloud from their work at the Wordstock festival this past weekend. However, I can safely say that few, if any, were as entertaining and authentic as the WITS student readers. On Sunday morning at the OEA stage, an audience of fifty people watched as the words on the pages of the 2008-2009 WITS Anthology A Whole New Subject came alive.

We’ve all experienced those disappointing events where the writer sounds detached, as though reading from someone else’s book. But these students, including Courtney Bliss (interviewed in this post), Sabrina Ruiz, Talisha Jackson, Christina Boom, Reuben Cottingham, Tessa Bolsover, Miles Shepard, and Elie Hoover, were the real thing. They even gave us a preview of work from the upcoming WITS anthology, Take My Hand, I Want to Show You Something, that will be released in December.

I had read A Whole New Subject prior to the reading, but watching the students not only read, but own their words, was awesome. There were conversations with absent parents, God, past loves, and a sneaky shoe. (And I will never look at a Manwich® sloppy joe the same.) The students were poised and honest, their highly crafted pieces capturing sincere and often raw emotions. In short, they were inspiring, and I’m excited to attend more student readings in the future.

Though the content and themes of WITS student anthologies vary from year to year, one thing has remained constant: the artful design and layout of the anthology, created by book designer Jodi McPhee-Giddings, who has worked on the WITS anthology every year since 2003.

In a recent interview, Jodi graciously answered my queries about her occupation and experience with book design. Depending on the project, Jodi does anything from designing the front covers and laying out the text of a book, to editing content and working with Photoshop, to arranging text and pictures in an aesthetically pleasing format. She has been working on her current project for over a year and a half – a book involving letters from a soldier in the second World War. Though she enjoys mostly focusing on design and layout, she says that she has learned to be able to do a little bit of everything; she has even worked designing icons for software programs.

Jodi first found an academic interest in the world of publishing after taking journalism classes at Boise state, and hearing about the graduate program in publishing that Portland State had just introduced. After taking a book design class, she pursued her interest in publishing, through the Portland State program and involvement with the Ooligan Press. Jodi graduated from the program, and began looking for publishing projects. She had heard about the Writers in the Schools program, and decided to push past her self-proclaimed “shyness” and ask Literary Arts if she could have the job designing the WITS anthology.

Jodi mentioned that in high school, she liked to write and had a writing teacher that became a meaningful mentor to her; thus she was understanding and appreciative of the work that WITS does, and enjoys being such an integral part of the anthology’s production, believing that the anthology is important and a great way to honor student work. The first WITS anthology Jodi designed was one of the first projects she completed after graduate school.

The Writers in the Schools program has been very fortunate to have Jodi’s expertise, and is grateful for the hard work she does, wonderfully designing the anthologies year after year.

Pick up a WITS anthology to see an example of Jodi’s finely crafted work!