Multi-award winning magazine World Literature Today, housed on Parrington Oval, is offering a free one-month subscription for OU students, faculty and staff.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the magazine will waive the first month of subscription fees for members of the OU community. Following the trial month, subscribers will be able to maintain their digital subscription at a discounted price of $2 a month.
Executive director Robert Con Davis-Undiano, said he hopes the trial period for the subscription allows a new audience to experience what the magazine has to offer and brings some positivity to the difficult times the community is facing.
The Norman campus publication was recognized as one of the “best edited and most informative literary publications” by the Nobel Prize committee, according to a press release.
Davis-Undiano said the publication's goal is to give students a view of what is going on in the world around them.
“Young people, who are going to be leaders of tomorrow, need to know the things they're learning in WLT,” Davis-Undiano said.
World Literature Today has been published for more than 90 years with the goal of opening lines of communication across nations, according to the press release.
Davis-Undiano said he realized how important the magazine was during a banquet shortly after 9/11. Following the attacks, many Americans were xenophobic and afraid of the world around them and their fear stemmed from a lack of understanding Davis-Undiano said
As a gift, copies of World Literature Today were placed on the dinner plates of each guest in attendance. The issue featured an Arabic and a Palestinian author on the front page. Davis-Undiano said at first people were skeptical of the magazine, but, after reading it, they gained new knowledge and appreciation for Middle Eastern culture.
“There aren’t a lot of magazines bringing world culture to people and telling them what they need to know,” Davis-Undiano said.
After starting with less than a thousand subscribers, he said World Literature Today has grown to reach an audience of millions.
Even though the magazine has amassed a large audience, Davis-Undiano said the magazine is still striving to capture the younger demographic. He said many students are unaware such a large magazine is based on campus and he hopes students take interest in the magazine and the internships it offers.
“Everybody is smart, everyone has something to offer,” Davis-Undiano said.
To access the free subscription offer, visit the sign-up site and then view the content on World Literature Today’s website.
