The Oleander Review started in October of 2006 as a project of two ambitious undergraduate students, Amanda Nichols and Sarah Sala. Noticing that the University of Michigan did not yet have an undergraduate-run literary press to publish both writing and visual art, Amanda wondered what she could do to bring such a publication to the U of M community. With the direction of faculty advisor Keith Taylor, and with the model of Michigan State University's Red Cedar Review, Amanda and Sarah quickly set out to transform the idea of an undergraduate-published literary journal into a reality. The Oleander Reviewdistributed its first issue in the fall of 2007.
Now, in 2009, the Oleander Review continues to thrive, with a full staff of energetic undergraduates working together to compile and publish the third issue, giving voice to the creative impetus and diverse aesthetic of the undergraduate community at the University of Michigan, and offering publication opportunities to writers, both local and distant.