For a writer, often the true test of literary worth is getting published.

For Danny Paquin, a first-year English graduate student, getting published in Eastern’s literary journal The Vehicle is a form of recognition that shows he can take it further.

“It’s kind of a stepping stone,” Paquin said.

The spring 2010 issue of The Vehicle was printed Friday and selections were read by the authors Saturday at Celebration.

Lisa Myers, a junior English major, is the editor and review head for The Vehicle, which is produced by Sigma Tau Delta, the English honors society.

This semester, approximately 200 stories, poems, photos and works of art were submitted for publication, something Myers attributes to their new online submission option.

The chance to have one’s work seen outside of class and to be published is something young writers and artists struggle to achieve, but The Vehicle gives them that opportunity.

“It gives students the opportunity to share their creative works with their community, as well as give them a taste of how being published in such a journal feels – a feeling which I hope they all will experience again in their lives,” Myers said.

Paquin is one of 25 students published in the soft-cover journal, and since writing is a solitary act, he found the opportunity to read his work at Celebration educational.

“Being able to read the story out loud will actually help write the story,” he said.

Letitia Moffitt, associate professor in the English department, is the adviser to The Vehicle, which she said is a student’s first step into the literary world.

“It shows their work in public dissemination in a form that’s professional, polished and artistic,” she said.

Doug Urbanski, a junior English major, has submitted pieces to The Vehicle before, but this was the first time his work was published. He won first place in prose for his short story “Coming Home,” about an American spy living in Russia.

“I was inspired by the novel ‘Child 44’ by Tom Rob Smith, a mystery novel set in Soviet Russia in the 1950s,” he said.

Urbanski said he was glad to know people outside his close circle of friends and acquaintances would see his work and has been surprised by their reactions.

“I’ve been told I’ve got a voice for social satire, something that didn’t quite strike me until I’d written a few poems in a row,” Ubanski said.

Myers read every piece submitted, but cannot pick a favorite.

“It would be difficult to pick just one favorite; some pieces amused me, some moved me, and some really made me think,” Myers said. “We had a very strong issue this semester, with a lot of quality writing and artwork.”

Copies of The Vehicle are available to the public in Buzzard Hall, near the south entrance of Booth Library and on the free books stand on the third floor of Coleman Hall.

Emily Steele can be reached at 581-7942 or easteele2@eiu.edu