A treasure for many in the community of Arapahoe Community College (ACC) is the Progenitor: a published collection of art in a literary journal. In 2022, advisor and English faculty Jamey Trotter added a “pocket-sized collection of postcard prose” which are only composed of student submissions.

ACC will hold both a Progenitor Release Party on May 3 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. There will be an additional Postcard Anthology Release Party on May 5 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Both will be held in the Annex inside the Gallery of the Arts at the Main Campus of ACC Littleton.

Trotter is offering complimentary books to attendees of the release parties. Progenitor is a compilation of community artwork, including submissions from students who register for English and writing classes. It also contains multimedia aspects from students in graphic design and photography.

All submissions are blindly read, so there is no outside influence to which works are published.

Trotter expressed his excitement for the upcoming party. “For two years, of course, we’ve not had a great way to celebrate the work of the students, the authors, and the artists,” he said in an e-mail. “The best we could do was a ‘Zoom reading’.”

Although the online reading was accessible, it was not necessarily ideal.

“Last year, of course, was entirely online — got that book out too. The resiliency and dedication of the students never ceases to amaze me,” Trotter said.

The Postcard Anthology is a new addition to Progenitor, only having been created last semester. Trotter refers to it as a “baby pub” that will stick around for the future.

The Postcard Anthology strictly consists of student work that is less than 250 words – it coined its name from being as small and accessible as a postcard.

“The release party for the [Postcard] is cool,” Trotter stated. “Students bring their parents and siblings and the like.”

More information can be accessed through contacting [email protected], or visiting the Progenitor information website.