Hello! For our next #wewrite spotlight, meet Iowa Young Writers' Studio alum and B.A.R.S. founder, Caleb Rainey. As an active writer, Caleb attended the IYWS before coming to the University of Iowa where he founded Black Art; Real Stories (B.A.R.S.) and is majoring in English and Creative Writing. We caught up with Caleb for a brief Q&A; see his answers below!

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When do you plan to graduate/what are you studying?
I’m an English major on the creative writing track, with a minor in African American Studies. I plan to graduate in May 2017.

What are you doing now?
I’m currently working as a marketing assistant at the University of Iowa press. This fall I will be a writer for the Being Black at Iowa Blog that will debut in September, as well as the Chief Fiction Editor of Black Art Real Stories (B.A.R.S.) literary magazine. When I’m not working, I’m preparing my portfolio for the University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop, which I hope to be accepted into this spring.

What did you gain the most from the Young Writers’ Studio and founding B.A.R.S.?
Interestingly, I gained the same thing from both the Young Writers’ Studio and founding B.A.R.S. – I gained a community. The Young Writers’ Studio didn’t just increase my desire to write, it showed me what it was like to be surrounded by writers all attempting to grow as people and writers. B.A.R.S. does exactly the same thing by creating an environment where people of color can grow as people and writers in a safe space. Both experiences have shaped my views on community, and ingrained the lesson of how important it is to have one, not only for your own personal growth, but for the growth of us all.

What would you like to tell the world about the Magid Center?
Though IYWS was not a part of the Magid Center when I participated, the Magid Center has played a role in my college experience by supporting the Iowa Writers’ Living-Learning Community. If I did not have the opportunity to join that particular LLC, my college experience may have been drastically different. While in that LLC I met and befriended a writer that, like me, felt the need for a black arts space, and together we co-founded B.A.R.S. The Magid Center supports a writing, and community, and that’s what will help us all grow.