This year’s edition features short stories, poems, photography, paintings, and sculpture. The journal, originally transcripts of seminar speakers, has evolved into a forum for honors students to publish their best works.

Honors director Frederick Williams said he is proud of the ninth volume of Papyrus.’

We’re very proud of the work students do, and happy to be able to provide a medium for student publication, he said.

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Ambar Zobairi, a senior majoring in history and political science, said Papyrus’ benefits honors students.

It’s a chance for honors students to display their work, she said. They can submit any kind of work and any amount.

Zobairi, former student editor of Papyrus’, has three poems published in the new edition.

I write poetry, she said. The poems published in Papyrus’ come from my experiences in Japan last semester.

Zobairi accompanied her father, history professor Riazuddin Zobairi, to Japan last spring to do independent study work. She then began to write about her experiences.

I had a project that dealt with Japanese women poets, she said. My professor knew that I wrote poetry and wanted me to write some poems.

Williams said the journal’s name has an interesting origin.

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The ancient Egyptians used the papyrus plant to write on. Papyrus’ is where we derive the word paper, and the journal is keeping up the SIU Egyptian’ tradition, Williams said.

Unlike other journals, Papyrus’ is not just a literary or art journal, Williams said.

Most journals tend to be exclusively or almost exclusively literature journals, art journals. We publish a wide variety of materials, as long as criteria are met, he said.

Papyrus’ is distributed not only to the SIU campus, but also to other colleges and universities.

Our students’ work is available to Notre Dame and Harvard, among other subscribers, Williams said.

Papyrus’ is one of the many benefits of the University Honors program, which offers recognition for undergraduates who maintain a 3.25 GPA.

Joining the honors program is not an impossible task, Williams said. There are no fees for membership, and having your works read from South Bend to Cambridge is a great advantage.