Campus Life

Contact Information

Campus Life Office
Marple Campus
Founders Hall, Room 2518

Email

Pegasus

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly versionSend to friendSend to friend

Pegasus Literary Magazine is Delaware County Community College's student-run publication. When Pegasus is unleashed each spring, College students are introduced to talented writers and artists whose prose, poetry, drama, photography and artwork ignites the imagination.

Students Get Involved!

There are also opportunities to work behind the scenes at Pegagus. Students handle every aspect of production, from selecting the featured works through designing the magazine. Pegasus is written and produced by the students for the students.

Submit your Work

Each year, our staff searches for exciting new writers, photographers and artists. Are you interested in being part of our 2012 issue? We are now accepting prose, poetry, drama, artwork and photography from Delaware County Community College students. Submit to Pegasus today!

Poet of the Year

Camelia Nocella

Pegasus Literary Magazine's Guest Author

Each year, Pegasus Literary Magazine features the work of a published author. We are honored to welcome Camelia Nocella to our Spring 2011 issue.

Camelia Nocella has a MS in Education from Temple University and has been published consistently in the Mad Poets Review: Volumes 14 thru 20 and the Delco Cooperative Poets Calendar. Her poems were published in The Philadelphia Tribune, The Schuylkill Valley Journal and The Poetess. Moreover, her poetic words were published as lyrics to various art songs, and online. Currently, she is working on publishing a chapbook to be released in the near future.

Answers to Questions

What is your idea of perfect Happiness?
Her idea of perfect happiness is to first understand and accept there is no perfection in happiness and the pursuit of happiness is individualistic based upon what you are about and what you love doing.  She shares the thoughts of the Dali Lama who stated “that happiness is not something ready made but comes from our own actions.” That being said, Camelia Nocella works to find the time to collaborate with her husband, a well-known music instructor and composer, creating music and poetry together to promote the arts throughout their community by assisting adults and children in expressing their musical and poetic talents. Thus, through collaboration, being productive and sharing her talent with others is her way of achieving happiness.

Who is the living person you most admire?
Nietzsche once said “there is an innocence in admiration; it is found in those to whom it has never occurred that they, too, might be admired some day.” It is with regards to this quote that Mrs. Nocella’s living person she admires is a group of ingenious people, her former and recent students. In facing many struggles of neglect, abuse, living in shelters or foster care, they have achieved educational goals and success. With respect to her students in college or graduated, she admires their fortitude of continuing to jump over the hurdles to stay the course though financial means and finding a job are very challenging during these times.
 
Who is your hero of fiction?
"Because I could not stop for Death," the beginning line of an Emily Dickenson poem initiated a powerful influence upon the beginning writing of Camelia Nocella who identified with the reclusive and private aspects of this poet. Being a closet poet during her young adulthood, Camelia never spoke of or shared her poems with even her closest friends. She liked Ms. Dickenson’s unconventional writing style and adopted her unusual use of capitalization and punctuation. Later, reading the works of Jane Austin, who boldly criticized the upper class for their elitist view of society, prodded Camelia to become more open with her poetry, and try various writing styles. Like the Austen female characters, Mrs. Nocella overcame barriers that helped her to embrace her poetic expression.

What virtue you consider most overrated?
Upon consideration what virtue is overrated, Mrs. Nocella feels that blind faith without an open-mind and flexibility towards understanding others and their culture may tend to create fuel to initiate or justify violence. By following a faith that neither allows questioning or proven scientific and historical events to be realized, keeps that society from reaching their individualism. Mrs. Nocella ascribes to Galileo’s quote:

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.” 

What is your greatest achievement?
According to Maya Angelou, “all great achievements require time;” therefore, Camelia Nocella considers her greatest achievement is teaching for 37 years in an urban environment and interweaving the passion of poetry with her continued enthusiasm toward the profession of education. During the last ten years, she has an on-going project of developing and showcasing the literary talents of children, teacher and parents. In April (National Poetry Month), Camelia is the Pied Piper of Poetry ringing chimes calling everyone to listen to original and classic literature from the school community. Over the years, the students have expanded from Roses are red rhyming poems to writing free verse, haiku, acrostic and cinquain. For Camelia Nocella, the adventure of teaching has been a rewarding journey.