In celebration of its 10th year anniversary, the College of the Canyons literary and arts magazine cul-de-sac will release its annual volume at a special reception on Friday, May 26, which will include readings from students.

The magazine’s tenth volume includes poetry, stories, photographs and artwork created by more than 30 COC students, including five students who are incarcerated at Pitchess Detention Center (PDC) in Castaic.

“Taking into account the current political environment, we were interested in investigating the ideas of captivity and freedom, of exercising our voices and resisting oppression,” said Alene Terzian-Zeitounian, the magazine’s co-founder and English professor at the college.

In collaboration with the Los Angeles County Sheriff, COC has provided college courses to more than 300 incarcerated men at PDC over the past two years.

This spring, COC adjunct professor Eric Barnhart taught creative writing at PDC, which allowed inmates the opportunity to submit work to the literary magazine.

“Our goal was to make a subtle statement about how important writers and artists are to the revolution—that even if we are incarcerated, either literally or figuratively, we still have valuable and powerful voices,” said Terzian-Zeitounian.

Created entirely by students enrolled in English 122, the college’s magazine production class, cul-de-sac gives students the opportunity to learn about the literary production process.

Winner of multiple national awards through the Community College Humanities Association, the magazine aims to be inclusive of all voices and creative styles.

“All volumes of cul-de-sac have been a labor of love, but volume 10 marks an important milestone and carries with it a decade’s worth of pressure,” said Terzian-Zeitounian. We wanted this year’s magazine to be even more exceptional, to be design-forward and content driven. With the powerful cover design, the strength of the content and the inclusion of the incarcerated artists section, I believe we have achieved our goals.”

The release party will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, May 26 at Pico Hall, Room 101.

Refreshments and hors d’oevres will be served.