Bricolage

Q: What does the word bricolage mean?
A: It’s a noun meaning “an assemblage improvised from materials ready at hand, or the practice of transforming ‘found’ materials by incorporating them into a new work.” French, from bricoler, to putter about.

Q: Where can I purchase Bricolage?
A: The most current issue is available for $5 at the University Bookstore on the Ave; you can also get a copy at room A2B of Padelford Hall (English Advising). You can also buy in-stock past issues there for $3 apiece; email brico@u.washington.edu if you’d like to check on availability.

Q: I was published in the last issue—how can I get my free copy?
A: Go to PDL A2B during regular business hours and ask for Melissa Wensel.

Q: How many submissions do you usually get?
A: Last year we received a bit over 450 submissions—300 to the poetry category, 100 to fiction, and 60 to the artwork categories.

Q: Is Bricolage a non-profit organization?
A: Why, yes it is! Bricolage gives away much of the print run as complimentary copies to contributors and our volunteer staff members, and sells the rest at below cost. In view of our our declining bank account, we’d love to use your tax-deductible donation to continue to support emerging writers and artists in the UW community.

Q: How do pieces get selected for publication in Bricolage?
A: Bricolage uses a double-blind selection process, which means that author and artist names remain separate from the pieces under consideration until the works to be published have been selected, which is why sometimes you will see several pieces by the same person published in an issue. We aim for quality, as opposed to equal representation.

Q: My submission that was rejected is better than some of the pieces you published. What gives?
A: Art is inherently subjective, and while there are some obvious diversities in the degrees of merit of our submissions, there are cases where a certain style happens to agree more with our editorial staff than others. As the staff changes every year, we encourage you to submit again, because you might have more success the next time—even with the same piece.

Q: How can I become a Bricolage Officer?
A: If you are a University of Washington undergraduate student, you can run for a position at the officer election, usually held in May or June for the following academic year. Put yourself on the Bricolage Email List to be notified of the specific date, or check back at the website during Spring Quarter. New officers are elected by the previous year’s staff and officers. (Hint: the Bricolage staff tends to reward its own, so often it is easier to get elected to an officer position if you spend a year as a reader first.)

Q: How “commited” as a staff member must I be to earn a free copy?
A: This really remains within the Poetry or Fiction Editor’s discretion, but if you come to most of the reading group meetings and all of the roundtable discussions, you will earn your wings as a full-fledged Bricolage staff member.