Literary Magazines Explore New Directions

About two weeks ago, a previously obscure Black journal received campus acclaim for its newly-released 95-page publication. Diaspora surprised a lot of its literary peers--but shocking literary peers seems to be all the rage lately.

Indeed, the appearance of new publications on the Harvard literary scene over the past few years has forced the more established magazines to redefine their audience, goals, and values.

The reinvigoration of the literary scene draws upon some very real sources; people who, in the past, have been marginalized either by their minority status or their alienation from the monolithic structure of the older magazines.

The oldest magazine on campus, founded 124 years ago, is The Harvard Advocate. Viewed by many as the most prestigious magazine, it published unchallenged until 1976, when Padan Aram offered undergraduate writers a new venue.

And it is only recently that these two literary icons have found themselves competing for material and audiences with yet another mainstream publication, a few non-selective creative forums, and numerous minority magazines.

Cultural Targets

Recently the most visible of the minority magazines has been the just-released Diaspora. Heralding itself as "the journal of Black thought and culture," the magazine, as outlined by editor Kevin L. Young, '92, attempts "to flesh out the artistic and cultural side" of Black society.

Young, who co-founded the revamped Diaspora with Annlucien Q. Senna '91, said he perceived the need for a quality literary outlet for Black voices. Young said he and Senna resolved, over last summer, to reincarnate Diaspora, a publication that originally appeared in the early 70 s.

The magazine had been resurrected last spring as a photocopied packet of contributions, but Young said both the medium and content of last year's publication were limiting.

"Student writers deserve more than a xeroxed, stapled journal in which to publish their work," Young said. "[The publication] was too insular, not addressing broader issues in Black culture and not reaching enough people."

Young cited the need for a Black publication that engages in criticism as well as creativity.

"Each issue, we plan on focusing on a particular aspect of Black culture. We want to cover a lot more in the 'real world' than other literary magazines," Young said.

But like all successful publications in "the real world," Diaspora now has to address bureacratic concerns like editing and financing, concerns that grow more pressing as the magazine itself grows. The artistic dilemmas that these concerns present trouble some members of the magazine board.

"I think we have to resolve the issue of preserving the submitter's integrity versus the editing process," said the magazine's fiction editor, Eisa Davis '92. But her caution does not temper her enthusiasm for the magazine's success.

"Aesthetically and content-wise, it looks really promising," Davis said. "There's a lot of quality writing to be tapped into."

And Diaspora is not the only campus outlet for minority voices and concerns. It joins the ranks of literary magazines like Yisei and East Wind, directed towards Asian-American audiences, and the Jewish magazine Mosaic. These, like Diaspora, attempt to highlight subjects pertaining to specific cultural groups in an atmosphere often dominated by more mainstream magazines.

Mosaic Editor Michael D. Goldhaber '90, explained that the resurrection of the Jewish magazine after its demise in 1973 coincides with "a resurgence of interest in Jewish identity. It's a way of building community that was overlooked in the late 70 s, early 80 s," Goldhaber said.

Community Concerns

The focus on community is not unique to minority magazines, however. Non-selective forums like Wallpaper and the first-year publication, The Fifth Floor Journal, often stress serving a need in the community as much as producing quality art work.

By targeting first-year students, The Fifth Floor Journal, now in its second year, provides an outlet for those writers, poets and artists who opt not to produce for the higher-pressured publications.

In his capacity as this year's "chief coordinator," Daniel A. Torop '93 leads the journal by organizing coffee houses, in which students read and present their work in a relaxed atmosphere, and interactive workshops, in which contributors fine-tune each other's work for publication. The journal frequently has postering campaigns to attract a broad range of first-year talents and styles.

Wallpaper aims by its very medium to provide a service to the community. Wallpaper publishes broadsheets of poetry and stories that members of the organization post around campus.

The publication was started by Eric Hsu '91, who said he based it on New York City street art broadsheets that he would see on his way to school in his hometown.

The publication is unique in its ease and inexpensiveness of production, Hsu said. He said it also differs from other literary publications, which aspire to be documents for posterity. Wallpaper, Hsu said, tends to publish for a more casual audience, and hopes to "publish as often as submissions require."

Hsu is currently waiting for an Undergraduate Council grant, but intends to finance the publication himself "until the funds catch up."

"Anyone who submits will get some commentary back, whether or not it's published in Wallpaper," Hsu said.

"I'd publish anything and everything if I had my way--poems, short stories, cartoons, from writers all over the Cambridge area," he added.

A Mainstream Darkhorse

Few publications are as ambitious as Wallpaper in soliciting diverse submissions, but a desire to represent student voices previously silent on campus motivated students to start the third mainstream literary publication, The Harvard Quarterly.

"Last year, Adam Brook ['90] and Matt Steinglass ['91] thought there was a certain gap in the Harvard literary scene between artists and publishers," Quarterly Managing Editor Seth L. Sanders '90 said. "Artists tended not to know about what was going on in terms of the mechanical aspects of publication. With the help of grants and the [Undergraduate Council] we started the Quarterly."

Sanders characterized Quarterly writing as "perhaps weirder but definitely more direct. Our pieces tend to be raw, funnier and embodying a certain feeling of cutting loose."

The recent release of the second issue of The Harvard Quarterly provided much of the impetus that is spurring the more established magazines to seek out new writers and to maintain originality.

Chad C. Heap '90, former Padan Aram editor, recalled the hesitation entertained by Padan Aram and Advocate members when the Quarterly first appeared on the scene.

"There's no use publishing for the sake of publishing," Heap said. "But the Quarterly has managed to be innovative by publishing a novella in their first issue, agressively targetting previously unpublished writers and choosing to feature several poems by a single author."

New-found Diversity

And now the more traditional literary publications look on the newer journals as fostering a diversity which may encourage all campus publications to draw on previously untapped creative energies.

Viewing the challenge presented by the newer magazines with optimism, current Advocate President Rebecca E. Zorach '90 said that the competition is "good for the literary community because it spurs us all on."

Since the advent of younger publications, the Advocate has worked to shed its elite image by targeting writers who might otherwise be intimidated by its history. The magazine recently sponsored a contest issue which was closed to all Advocate members, in order to discover new writers.

Zorach said that the Advocate is also working on ways to limit the number of times the same author can be published in one year, so that it will encourage new voices in what is now a relatively small pool of writers.

Meanwhile, Padan Aram, the longest surviving "alternative" to the Advocate, is also confronted with questions of redefinition with each year that brings newer campus magazines.

"Padan Aram was originally founded by people who left the Advocate during a frustrating year-and-a-half hiatus," Heap explained. "For the past 14 years we have been a venue for writers who felt intimidated by the Advocate, since it used to publish only three or four poems an issue."

Padan Aram members cite the difficulty of breaking the "second-best" cycle that has plagued the magazine since its inception.

"We are not a magazine that publishes Advocate `rejects,'" Heap said. "Last year we published several previously unpublished writers through active solicitation."

Through an emphasis on plurality, Padan Aram tries to maintain its freshness despite the recent increase in "Advocate alternatives."

Current Padan Aram Editor Rebecca Hellerstein '92 has announced the magazine's plans to sponsor readings by minority and gay and lesbian students in the spring.

"We want to encourage writers who aren't in Adams House or in the 'literary scene,'" Hellerstein said. "Padan Aram realizes that there are enough writers out there to support more than one main-stream literary magazine. We've just got to reach them."

Padan Aram prose board member Eleanor Stafford '92 said the magazine shies away from publishing more than one piece per issue by a single author. Stafford said the magazine wanted "to prevent the creation of a set `repertoire' of Padan Aram writers."

"Our poetry board also looks at every single poem submitted, unlike the Advocate which allows the poetry editor to decide what the board will or will not see," Stafford also said.

But Heap and others acknowledge that the Advocate still carries a lot of weight, making it difficult for the other magazines to attract willing writers.

But even newcomer status cannot keep these younger magazines from competing with the Advocate for submissions. And writers say they are beginning to find it necessary to make decisions about which pieces they will submit to which magazines.

"Most writers are careful readers as well," Kenji Yoshino '91 said. "Different publications have different slants and I submit accordingly, based on an individual piece."

And Heap said, "There's certainly room enough for three mainstream magazines and all the special interest journals to exist in the literary community at Harvard."

"All the literary magazines--new and old--are important voices in the community," former Harvard Advocate President Mallay B. Charters '90 said. "I don't feel any of us are in adversary positions at all."