VHS Banner Bold magazine writes their way into a post-pandemic reality

Juniors and seniors may recall seeing the school’s art and literary showcase Banner Bold, where VHS students may submit pieces of art and literature including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, short stories, paintings, drawings and photography. VHS students could submit multiple pieces in different categories. Since its last running year in 2019, there are big plans for the magazine to return and accept submissions from all over the school. 

So what is Banner Bold? Banner bold is VHS’s student run literary and creative magazine that establishes a theme and showcases students’ art and literary work. Themes of previous years include: Mindscape, Kaleidoscope, A Voice to be Heard, From the Ashes We Rise, Bloom, etc. 

Every year, students in Raney’s Creative Writing class work from the fall into the springtime on choosing a theme, a leadership team, a website, advertisement and finally the magazine itself. This magazine is published by students, with students working  inside, made for students. The leadership team is made up of an editor in chief, assistant editor in chief, managing editors, website managers, publicists, editors of submissions and Raney as the advisor. “It is the students’ chance to get their voice out to express themselves to take something they care about, something that is a hobby or source of creativity for them to express and share it with the rest of the community,” says Raney.

This magazine has a history here at VHS.  Back in the 1970s and 80s, there was a literary magazine published by students here called The Cub. Around 11 years ago, the students in the Creative Writing class decided to bring it back in the form of Banner Bold.  There are also prizes for each category including a grand prize of $300, first place gets $150 and second place will receive $75. Interested in entering? Go visit Mr.Raney in room 172.m For those who don’t know, Raney is the teacher for Creative Writing and 12th grade English. “I knew I wanted to study English. I didn’t know I wanted to teach, after I graduated it seemed like a fun and interesting way to keep studying and keep coaching and share that with other people.” He said.

His Creative Writing class focuses on exploring the depths of different forms of writing and experimenting with their own writing. “There’s a lot more freedom and there’s the opportunity to experiment more plus the majority of the students that are in creative writing choose to be there as opposed to being required to be there and so that changes the dynamic and the atmosphere in the class a little bit.” The class is currently credited as an applied art credit, which is something Raney is working towards changing. “I definitely think it should be a fine art credit, it’s already approved to be an applied art credit and we are slowly working to get it approved to fine art” Mose Cook, a senior in Raney’s Creative Writing class says, “I like writing because it gives me a chance to say what I’m thinking.” Cook is also running for Editor in Chief of Banner Bold. “I did expect the environment. It’s calm and I didn’t know Mr.Raney so I didn’t know what to expect but he’s super chill.” Whether you submit a piece or not, Banner Bold is a great way to showcase the school’s talent.