Quinn shows his poem published in the 1979 – 1980 Bartleby edition. (Catalina Dansberger Duque/UMBC)
“Bartleby NEEDS YOU!” This was the handwritten call to arms in 1979, for writers and poets to submit their work to Bartleby, UMBC’s creative arts journal. The sentiment of this flyer is not that different from its first publication in 1972 and from today’s social media posts alerting students to upcoming submission deadlines.
This unwavering spirit brought Howard Quinn ’80, English, back to campus in fall 2025 for the Bartleby 50+ celebration. He shared his memories as one of six editors of the 1979 – 1980 edition and reveled at the Bartleby covers and works, displayed in showcases at the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery, some with typed-up poems printed on newsprint or cardstock and stapled together like the edition with 35 pieces that he helped edit—including his own poem, “Wind Down Wind” about loss.
In 2026, Bartleby—under the recently chartered Student Media Collective—editors read 200 art submissions, 120 poetry submissions, 60 fiction submissions, and 23 creative nonfiction submissions. The ensuing 160-page publication is book-bound and printed on glossy paper. Over five decades, Retrievers have continued to creatively express the personal and political events that have defined their lives, including war and national identity, rebellion, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ identity, social isolation, and joy and love.
Quinn came to Bartleby’s retrospective to celebrate the publication’s ongoing impact and to share a message from his friend Martha Campbell ’82, American studies, a Bartleby editor for three and a half years.
“I know that Bartleby has endured because people showed up to create art, give voice, share ideas, and they did that work year after year,” wrote Campbell, perhaps inadvertently echoing a line from her poem published during her tenure: “And the clock moves on, slow, but certain in its ways.”
Left to right: Howard Quinn, Andrew Coulbourner, current editor (middle), and Sean McNutt ’24, anthropology, editor of volume 43, at the Bartleby 50+ exhibit. (Brad Ziegler/UMBC)