"The Fall Line" Retrospective

The Fall Line Retrospective: PVCC’s Literary Magazine Looks Back

In 2008, PVCC Creative Writing Club members sat around desks in one of the college’s smallest classrooms, batting around names for the new college literary magazine. This incarnation was to be a student-only publication. Club member Brandon Willitts suggested a geographical name, the fall line, referring to the imaginary line where different elevation regions, such as the piedmont and coastal plain, meet. Thus, The Fall Line was born.

From the beginning, club members wanted the magazine to showcase the voices of PVCC students. We wanted it to reflect the dreams, visions, and concerns of our student body, not one aesthetic nor a narrow idea of “good writing.” After the first few editions, composed in outdated software, we turned to PVCC’s Art Department for help. Graphic Design students brought their skill and creativity to the magazine, and we began to feature student art. The magazine, though still color-copied in-house, looked polished and professional.

For the past five years, we’ve been fortunate to secure funding for professional printing, allowing the art and design to really shine. The Fall Line has flourished. It’s a proud collaboration between student writers, artists, and designers, and it shows what beauty is possible when we seek to express ourselves—whether it be through writing, art, or design.

Jennifer Koster
Professor of English and Writing Center Coordinator