History

The Dawning of Aurora

Aurora is a longstanding tradition at Eastern Kentucky University that we hope to promote. Aurora hasn’t always been Aurora; it began in 1935 as a small paperback magazine titled Belles Lettres. Under the editing of Robert H. Rankin, and sponsorship of Roy B. Clark, Belles Lettres survived until 1969 when the title was changed to Aurora. The format and ideas remained the same, and the print edition continued through 2012. 

In the 1970s, Aurora began giving various awards, including the Roy B. Clark Award for best original fiction piece, and the Presley Grise Award for best original poetry.

The creation of the online version of Aurora magazine is merely an adaptation which will carry into the hands and minds of generations to come. The online edition of Aurora was first designed and published in 2003 by an editing class co-taught by Gaby Bedetti and Chris Daniel. It was, and remains, a vision of the students to produce a contemporary, user-friendly website with cutting-edge, original prose that demonstrates the creative ability of the students here at EKU.

Anyone interested in obtaining a previous print edition of Aurora or Belles Lettres should contact the English Department at EKU.

Thanks for visiting our website. We welcome any suggestions or comments you may have. Until then, WRITE ON!