The school year has come to its conclusion and that means El Portal is just about to slip into its summer hibernation. Before that, however, we’d like to introduce you to El Portal’s incoming editor-in-chief.
Bridget Richardson, a long-time resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico, will officially be taking over as El Portal’s editor in August 2017. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in May 2016, Bridget entered the graduate program in English at Eastern New Mexico University in August 2016. Bridget’s hobbies include reading, writing short stories, and, first and foremost, rescuing animals. She loves adventure novels and her favorite is Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jewels Verne.
Bridget became aware of El Portal in 2012 when one of her professors encouraged her to submit to the journal. In fact, one of her short stories, “The Toy Library,” appears in the journal’s Spring 2013 edition. Her enjoyment of writing isn’t all that attracts her to the journal’s editorship, however. Bridget also has a keen interest in editing.
She says: “I enjoy editing and looking at ideas that people have which are turned into stories. I like to see people’s writing. I like to help take that writing a step further through editing it.”
Although El Portal will not be seeing any drastic changes in the coming year, Bridget aims to see an increase in submissions and interest from ENMU’s student body. In regards to this, she says: “I want to increase awareness about the journal. When there’s more students submitting, there’s a bigger on-campus presence. It also encourages students who may have a creative side in less creative fields to branch out into their hobbies in addition to their studies.”
This isn’t to say that she hopes to ignore our national and international contributors, however. Bridget also hopes to continue improving upon the foundations already in place, which make El Portal a unique venue for writers across the world.
Bridget’s unending enthusiasm and unique perspective is certain to reinvigorate El Portal and help to keep it the successful—and proudly strange—publication it has been thus far. We hope you will join us in celebrating Bridget as she assumes editorship of the journal.
Bridget Richardson can be reached at: Bridget.Richardson@enmu.edu
(Article by Kayleen Burdine)
El Portal Literary Journal 