Student creates new literary journal that combines art forms

They say that college is all about finding what excites you and discovering what you want to do with the rest of your life. For Heidi Nielson, her undergraduate experience at ASU helped her not only find those passions, but connect them in a unique way.

Nielson will be graduating from Barrett, The Honors College and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences this May with a bachelor’s in English with a focus on creative writing and a cumulative GPA of 4.06.

Nielson’s honors thesis project was the creation of a new literary journal, called merj (http://www.merj.org/home) that promotes artistic collaboration by requiring artists to collaborate on submissions. The project has already taken off, with a launch event held April 2 and the hiring of two interns.

“I saw an example of collaborative art performed by a poet and disc jockey at an event, and the idea really intrigued me,” said Nielson. “I loved the idea combining the two art forms and creating new and innovative forms of art.”

Nielson is a Mesa native, who attended Mountain View High School and plays four instruments—starting with the violin, which she started learning at age three. She chose to go to ASU after receiving the President’s Scholarship.

Nielson didn’t know what she wanted to major in from the start, however. She started her undergraduate education as a journalism major, switched to business, spent a little time as a music therapy major, and then finally found her way to English. “I've always been an avid reader and writer,” she said. “I wrote my first ‘story’ about a hamster when I was six years old.” It was when Nielson took an introductory creative writing class with Melissa Pritchard that she knew she was in the right place.

The summer after her freshman year, Nielson interned with Hayden's Ferry Review at ASU, which she described as her first introduction to literary journals. She then interned with the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMOCA) as the marketing and community outreach intern and at Superstition Review, another literary journal.

All of these internships led her towards the creation of merj. “Initially, I wanted merj to be an online publication dedicated to collaborative art that also had a component that would allow artists to find collaborators,” Nielson said.  “The idea really expanded when I met Chris Johnson, my thesis partner and the co-founder of merj. Together, I think we've created something really special and unique.”

Following graduation, Nielson hopes to expand merj. “We’re looking into the idea of creating more internship experiences for students to learn about publishing, marketing, event planning, and collaborative art,” she explained.

The summer issue of merj is forthcoming, and will focus on collaborations between artists on either side of the U.S.-Mexico border.
However, merj isn’t the only thing on her horizon. “I'm planning to attend law school in 2012 to study international law,”

Nielson said. She’s also planning to take a year off to get experience and to give back, either in the AmeriCorps or by working for a non-profit or NGO.

“I worked as a research assistant to Dr. Dallen Timothy, who is studying the situation in Nogales, Ariz. and Nogales, Sonora-Mexico, and I was really struck by the dire humanitarian situation there,” she said. “This experience, as well as my study abroad experience in London, made me really passionate about pursuing a career in international law.”

For more information about merj, visit the web at http://www.merj.org/home.

Jeanne Schaser
Media Relations