Literary magazine Leland Quarterly opens doors to creative expression and student publication

Leland Quarterly, Stanford’s student-run literary and arts magazine, provides an outlet for students to publish and share their creative work. Each quarter, the magazine solicits submissions of poetry, prose and visual art from the student body to compile into a single glossy publication.

“Our number one priority is being able to showcase student art and writing. As a writer myself, I love it when people read my work, and I think we give students a chance to spotlight that, which is awesome,” said co-editor-in-chief Matt Hsu ’26. “We’re always hoping to expand and get more submissions, and just showcase as much student work as possible.”

The staff of the magazine meets weekly to review students’ submissions. For poems, editors read aloud the pieces to gain full effect of each work. They, then, pair the chosen writings with visual pieces.  

Chase Klavon ’25, a contributing writer for the 2023-2024 year, described her experience of being published in the Leland Quarterly as fulfilling for her passions in English and writing. Klavon emphasized the importance of student publications like Leland Quarterly for providing a platform for emerging writers.

“It’s a great stepping stone to hopefully write for bigger publications in the future,” said Klavon. “To finally achieve something that I set my mind to meant a lot to me, and it’s kind of allowed me to, apply or submit to other publications off campus that I didn’t really have the confidence to do before. ”

After publishing each quarterly issue, Leland Quarterly holds events for contributing students to read their work aloud to an audience. The events are usually announced on their Instagram and are open to the public.

“[The readings] are a unique experience. It was a lot of fun, because as a writer, I write for my work to be read aloud,” Klavon said. “It was very fulfilling. It made me feel happy and inspired to continue writing and reading for an audience.”

Some students outside of the magazine note that it can sometimes be difficult entering the creative world, especially at such a tech-focused school like Stanford. Evelyn Burt ’28, a pre-med student, discussed the inspiration of seeing such an interesting collection of works from different students. She noted how it is impactful to hear such vulnerability from some of these stories. 

“I think it’s a really beautiful collection of work…the artists and the poets are able to express topics ranging from relationships and family issues,” Burt said. “It’s something anyone can relate to.”

Leland Quarterly’s staff hopes that other students become inspired by the works they read from this magazine and hopefully feel inclined to pursue their own passions in the arts. 

“All that matters is you just put your heart into [your work] and you do your best to polish it up and get it in the best shape it can be,” Hsu said. “As long as it’s genuine or an interesting piece of poetry or prose or even visual art that we like to engage with, that’s the main thing we’re looking for.”

Though it’s a small publication, Klavon said it’s a great opportunity to engage with student artists on campus.

“It’s a very accessible way to read what other students are saying, see what other students are creating, and get a feel for pieces of art that are kind of happening on campus,” Klavon said. Hsu urges any Stanford student to submit their creative work to the publication via the Leland Quarterly Instagram or through the publication’s inbox. 

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