Previous Issues of Toyon

I took a look at the three most recent issues of the Toyon Literary Magazine this week. They are all the same roughly 8″ x 5″ and 75-90 page size. Each one has a fairly plain title page that gives its reader the essentials – the name of the magazine, volume number, year, and a possible dedication. The back covers of the 2015 and 2016 issues display the names of all the featured artists in the issue. The 2014 issue has a plane green cover with a Humboldt State University insignia on it, representing the schools 100 year anniversary. On the 2015 issue’s front cover is a squid knitting a scarf, seated on a cushy chair. And the 2016 issue features a realistically drawn flower.

Of these three issues, the 2016 flower seems to go best with the theme of Toyon; it is both artistic and elegant. The squid drawing is a bit to silly for a literary magazine, and the plain green cover is respectable but too serious. I also would like to point out that the 2016 issue has an abnormally large font size, although all three issues use a familiar Times New Roman or Calibri font.

It is interesting that each issue shows the different styles of the people and the year that created them.

~ Ciera