The Humboldt Room

The Humboldt Room, one of Humboldt State University’s resources for research, has a collection of all the past volumes of the Toyon Literary Magazine. The Toyon staff recently visited the Humboldt room to learn about our history and gather information to inform the making of our next issue.

I think it adds a nice touch to include the featured authors on the back cover of the volumes. The cover of the 2016 volume is mad of environmentally friendly paper which aligns well with Humboldt’s mission. Glossy text on the front cover adds a nice touch. The issues that featured more elegant artwork created a more professional feel overall. And a table of contents at the beginning of the volume, separated into entry sections.

Some of these factors will hopefully contribute to the overall look of the next volume of Toyon, and to the public’s reception of it. “They have handled and studied New Yorker, Esquire, the New Republic, Smart Set, the early Vanity Fair. and a host of other ‘slick’, polished, high circulation and high profile magazines that carry excellent writing in many forms. These have made their impression, and… the students seem prone to relegate them to a lesser degree of importance” (pg. 29). I hope to contribute to the memorability of our little magazine, and to advertise it as a professional collection of work.

Toyon Staff doing research in the Humboldt Room

~ Ciera