McNeese Hosts Reading for “The Arena”

Experience the creative worlds of McNeese State University undergraduates at a reading of The Arena on Wednesday, April 16, at 5 p.m. in the language lounge located in Kaufman Room 308.  

McNeese students, faculty, staff and alumni are encouraged to attend. Following the reading of the newest volume of The Arena, there will be an open mic featuring the So You Like to Write club and McNeese students.  

The Arena is a literary magazine that features McNeese undergraduates. The publication, which is also led by undergraduates, accepts photography, art, short stories, personal essays and poetry each spring.   

Issues of the 2025 edition of The Arena are available in Frazar Memorial Library and the Student Union. They will also be circulated in local coffee shops and businesses in and around Lake Charles.  

The newest edition was created under the supervision of faculty adviser and assistant professor of English Kevin Thomason and a review committee of McNeese students: Margaret Brantley, editor; Madelyn Furman, co-editor; Paige Hammontree, media manager; Grace Brady, funding advancements manager; and Bailey Thigpen, events coordinator.  

Brantley joined the publication to help spread the works of creatives at McNeese.  

“I want the College of Liberal Arts and its talented students to be lifted up and recognized within the McNeese community,” Brantley said. “I also wanted to be part of something that promotes my passion – poetry.”  

She explained that The Arena provides an important platform for aspiring writers and artists at McNeese to express themselves and share their creative works. Not only is it a chance for students to share their work and get published but it is also an accomplishment that gets them started on the path to their future careers.   

“That’s all I could want for the creatives on campus,” Brantley added.   

Recruitment for The Arena’s review committee for the 2026 edition will start in the fall with submissions opening the following spring.  

Brantley encourages all students to submit their work. “Submit, submit, submit! It’s a special and great opportunity to showcase your creativity, talent and passion that inspires you to create,” she said. “This literary magazine is an important avenue for you to become recognized and get a publication under your belt.”   

Students interested in applying for the review committee or submitting their work for the next volume of The Arena can contact Thomason at kthomason1@mcneese.edu. Stay connected with The Arena by following its Instagram page at @arena_mcneese.  

“Each reading we host and each publication that we release gives students a chance to participate in the creative world they want to be immersed in,” Brantley said.  

The Arena has long been a labor of love in the McNeese English and Foreign Languages Department since its start in the 1960s thanks to contributors such as retired associate professor of English and long-time adviser Dr. Elizabeth Hait and dedicated undergraduates in the department.   

“Each year as this magazine grows, it brings us closer to the vision of what this publication can become and what it stands to mean for the College of Liberal Arts and our other creatives here at McNeese.”