I started off my review of journals with issue 1 of The Owl (1915). I was drawn to it initially because of the "handmade" feel of the cover; the whimsical look of the journal it seemed like something I would actually want to pick up and look at. The design of the interior is simple, but elegant. One design element I particularly like about this journal is the inclusion of the signatures of contributing authors; it adds to the journal's feel as something handmade and personal.
The Owl is a self-described miscellany. The publishers go so far as to say, "'The Owl' has no politics, leads no new movement and is not even the organ of any particular generation...but we find in common a love of honest work and a distaste for short cuts to popular success." It includes poetry, short stories, short plays, and artwork--sometimes in combination, as on page 15 of the pdf--all seeming to abide by the description of "honest work."
The second journal I looked at was Vol. 4, No. 1 of The Mask(linked from The 1910 collection). Like The Owl, this magazine includes poetry, short stories, and artwork, but also appears to include essays, criticism, letters to the editor, book reviews, and even international news. It contains advertisements (unlike The Owl) and is 100 pages in length, which suggests to me that this is a much more commercialized and more widely distributed magazine. It reminds me of a magazine like Harper's or The New Yorker.
I concluded my examination of little magazines by reviewing Vol. 3, no. 10 of The New Age. This magazine appears to include primarily essays and reviews rather than creative writing; I didn't see any artwork in this magazine. It looks more like a newspaper than a literary magazine since the text is very dense and the articles are printed continuously (each article begins right after the previous one ends rather than beginning on a new page).
Of the three magazines I looked at, I think The Owl is closest to what I would envision for our literary magazine. It's small, it's accessible, and it seems like it would be manageable. There might be already be too many small magazines where undergrads can publish, so this may be a bad idea, but I think the "miscellany" nature of The Owl might work for us, too.
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Now, to respond to the blog entry:
Imagine that you have been asked to write an introduction to a digital edition of any literary journal (Puerto could be one of these, Modernist Journals project, etc., a magazine that you’ve picked up). In addition to providing your readers with information about the journal’s visual/physical design, editorial policies, material production, and circulation etc., plan on building comparisons with some of the other magazines or articles we’re studying into your discussion. You’re welcome to develop a specific thematic focus for your review—but never forget that you are introducing this magazine to a general audience.
Since I liked The Owl so much, I decided this might be a good publication to digitize (is that a word? I'll pretend it is). Ahem:
Nearly one hundred years after its original publication, The Owl: A Miscellany has been revived. Editor Robert Graves began this magazine in 1915 by setting aside political agendas and developing a publication of "honest work well done." Despite its brief lifespand--only three issues were published between 1915 and 1919--The Owl published poetry, fiction, drama, and art by some of the most renowned individuals in the literary world, including Thomas Hardy, John Galsworthy, W. H. Davies, and Graves himself.
It is the wish of The Owl's new batch of editors to maintain the vision originally set forth by Graves, even in the new digital version. We have incorporated the original cover and sectional artwork from the first three issues into the design of our web version, and have retained the typefaces used in the original hard copies. More importantly, however, the editorial staff remains dedicated to publishing good work by good writers, regardless of popular success or political bent. Unlike some other magazines that publish only the most edgy and hip poetry and art, the editors of and contributors to The Owl's revival continue to abide by the standard for honest work well done.
We encourage writers young and old to submit poetry, fiction, drama, artwork, and reviews to The Owl via our submissions page. The volunteer editorial staff will notify you as soon as we receive your work and will inform you of its acceptance or request for revision within 30 days. Like the original magazine, The Owl online will be published quarterly or whenever we have enough materials for a full issue.
We hope to see you again soon at The Owl online, and invite you to share this site with others like you who appreciate the simplicity and elegance of good work.
[Obviously, I don't know how the heck anybody could afford to keep this running...but it sounds like a good idea in theory, right?]
The concept of "miscellany" is really intriguing to me, I think because it seems so contradictory to what we do in professional communication. It seems that unity and theme and focus are keys in both professional writing and in my composition classroom. I like the freedom of that format in theory, but wonder if it's hard for a publication to define itself as mostly a collection.
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