Raymond Carver
Of all of Toyon’s past contributors, Raymond Carver, the popular short story writer, is perhaps the best known. According to Carol Skelenicka’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 the Toyon. The Toyon proved to be a key factor in Carver’s time at Humboldt State, when in spring of 1961, it featured his short story “My Father,” which, 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 3 more of his own short stories and one poem before leaving Arcata.
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 skullduggery, but probably not felonious.’” Carver did as he said, filling roughly 46% of the 1963 issue with his own material.
Though 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 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 in on the 1963 issue, including Barbra Flora, who later went on to edit in 1964. Though these contributors 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, 2018-19 Toyon Spoken Word Editor
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 skullduggery, but probably not felonious.’” Carver did as he said, filling roughly 46% of the 1963 issue with his own material.
Though 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 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 in on the 1963 issue, including Barbra Flora, who later went on to edit in 1964. Though these contributors 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, 2018-19 Toyon Spoken Word Editor