Toyon: Seven Decades of Student Driven Publishing

Class Standout
Most Likely to Succeed:
Raymond Carver

Of all of Toyon’s past contributors,

Raymond Carver, the popular short
story writer, is perhaps the best
known. According to Carol Skele-
nicka’s biography, Raymond Carver: A
Writer’s Life, Carver came to Humboldt
State College in 1960, where he quickly
formed a bond with professor Richard
Cortez Day, who served as the faulty
advisor to Toyon. Toyon proved to be a
Unknown source, CC
key factor in Carver’s time at Humboldt BY-SA 3.0, https://
State, when in Spring of 1961, his short commons.wikimedia.
org/w/index.php?cu-
story “My Father,” was featured which, rid=1824244
along with a simultaneous publication in
Chico, was the first time Carver had been
published. Carver continued pursuing
writing and went on to serve as Toyon’s
editor in 1963, publishing three more of
his own short stories and one poem before
leaving Arcata.

Volume 9, 1963
14
 1960s

The 1963 edition of Toyon, which Carver edited, contains two pieces credited to him.  However,
Carver actually published four pieces in the magazine, two of which are under the pseudonym
John Vale. Carver didn’t even bother to hide the fact that John Vale was a pseudonym, writing
“John Vale is a pseudonym of an H.S.C. [Humboldt State College] who wishes to remain
anonymous” in the contributor’s biography. This issue of Toyon only has seven contributors,
contains a noticeably larger font that other issues, and is perhaps the only issue featuring a piece, a
Brecht quote, explicitly labelled in the table of contents as “filler.”
The journal had to live up to Carver’s high expectations,
and as a result he filled it with his own work and limited
the number of other
people published.
Richard Cortez Day
later recalled in his
tribute to Carver, “Bad
News,” published in the
1989 issue, “He says
there’s not enough good
stuff to fill the issue,
so…he’ll fill it with his
own work, using various
names. I say, ‘It’s skull-
duggery, but probably
not felonious.’” Carver
did as he said, filling
roughly 46% of the Volume 11, 1965
1963 issue with his own
material.

Volume 10, 1964

15
 Toyon: Seven Decades of Student Driven Publishing

Although the Toyon proved instrumental for Carver, and he

in turn generated interest for the magazine, the ethos of
the Toyon has changed over time, almost as a response to
Carver. Though a writer, Carver did not graduate Humboldt
with an English degree. As evidenced by Humboldt’s 1963
graduation pamphlet, Carver opted for General Studies to
avoid the year of foreign language required by the English
department, which conflicts with Toyon’s current orientation as
a multilingual journal.

It is important to acknowledge Carver as a key part of Toyon’s

history, but it is also important to note that Toyon has changed.
The 1964 issue, published the year after he left, features twice
Volume 12, 1966
the number of contributors
and has more space for writing
with a smaller font. Carver’s
huge legacy overshadows
the other contributors who
worked with him on the 1963
issue, including Barbra Flora,
who later went on to edit in
1964. Though these contribu-
tors never became as famous,
their work is just as valuable,
and just as much a part of
Toyon’s past as Carver’s.

-Dean Engle, Volume 13, 1967

originally published on Toyonliterarymagazine.org

Volume 14, 1968
16