Reed Magazine

{{Short description|American literary journal}} {{about|the literary journal at San Jose State University|text=Not to be confused with Reed Magazine, a student publication at Reed College}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox newspaper | name = ''Reed Magazine'' | image = Orange and Blue Reed Magazine logo.jpg | type = Annual | format = Literary Journal | owners = San José State University | headquarters = San Jose, California | editor-in-chief = | founded = 1867 (''claimed'') <br> 1948 (''actual'') | language = English | circulation_date = | ISSN = 1524-8194 | oclc = 41231982 | website = [http://www.reedmag.org/ http://reedmag.org/] }} '''''Reed Magazine''''' is an annual literary journal published by San José State University. Two semesters of the Department of English and Comparative Literature's <ref>{{Cite web | title=Department of English and Comparative Literature | url=https://www.sjsu.edu/english/ | access-date=2025-08-24 | website=www.sjsu.edu}}</ref> 133 class (comprising graduate and undergraduate students) solicit, edit, and promote the magazine for each year. It is the oldest literary journal based in California.<ref>Reed magazine delivers 'Goosebumps' by Michael Le Roy, ''Spartan Daily'', April 28, 2008</ref>

The journal prints art, poetry, and prose (fiction and nonfiction). It also sponsors the Edwin Markham Prize for Poetry, the John Steinbeck Award for Fiction, the Gabriele Rico Challenge for Nonfiction, the Mary Blair Award for Art, and the Emerging Voices Contest for Santa Clara County, California high school students.

== History ==

The earliest student published literary collection to be published by students of the California State Normal School (now San José State University), was a pamphlet in 1867 named ''The Acorn''. Several literary journals followed ''The Acorn'', including ''The Class Paper'' from 1880–82, ''The Normal Index'' from 1885-91, and ''The Normal Pennant'' from 1898-1909. The schools English department published ''The Quill'' from 1925 to 1931 and ''El Portal'' from 1932 to 1941. After World War II, in 1948'', '''The Reed Literary Magazine''''' was first published by Pegasus, a literary society at San Jose State, with assistance from the schools Associated Student Body. Its name was later shortened to just ''Reed Magazine''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=San Jose State Normal School Pennant |url=https://digitalcollections.sjsu.edu/normal-school-pennant?page=1 |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=digitalcollections.sjsu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2010 |title=Guide to the San José State University Student Publications Collection |url=https://cdn.calisphere.org/data/13030/j0/kt658037j0/files/kt658037j0.pdf}}</ref> Reed Magazine claims 1867 as the beginning of its heritage through these prior publications.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=About Reed {{!}} Reed-156 |url=https://www.reedmag.org/about-reed |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=Reed-155 |language=en}}</ref>

There is some dispute about the origin of the journal's name, the magazine currently claims that it honors James F. Reed, a survivor of the Donner Party and prominent local citizen who donated the land that would become San Jose States' campus.<ref name=":0" /> While others, including the magazine itself at various points, say that name of ''Reed'' was derived from a quote by French enlightenment thinker Blaise Pascal:<ref>{{Cite news |last=Boettcher |first=Mary |date=November 14, 2008 |title=Reed Magazine: A Literary Voice for Everyone |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/english/docs/undergrad-newsletters/Newsletter_F08.pdf |work=The Department of English and Comparative Literature Newsletter at San Jose State University}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-09-20 |title=Pizarro: Reed Magazine celebrates 150 years at San Jose State |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/20/pizarro-reed-magazine-celebrates-150-years-at-san-jose-state/ |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=The Mercury News |language=en-US}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature; but he is a thinking reed.... All our dignity consists in thought. By it we elevate ourselves, and not by space and time, which we can never fill. Let us make it our task, then, to think well: here is the principle of morality.}}

''Reed Magazine'' has published pieces by Pulitzer Prize winner William Finnegan, U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass, PEN/Faulkner winner T. C. Boyle, and National Book Award winner Ursula K. Le Guin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reed Magazine: Issue 151, California edition |url=https://www.reedmag.org/product-page/reed-151 |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=www.reedmag.org}}</ref>

== Notable contributors == {{Col-begin}} {{col-break}} *Jacob M. Appel *T. C. Boyle *Stephen Dixon *Cory Doctorow *William Finnegan *Forrest Gander *Cristina Garcia *Robert Hass *Brenda Hillman *Andrew Lam {{col-break}} *Ursula K. Le Guin *Cathleen Miller *Nayomi Munaweera *Naomi Shihab Nye *Emmy Pérez *Mark Slouka *Michael Ernest Sweet *Arthur Sze *Rodrigo Toscano *Vendela Vida *Al Young {{col-break}} *Arisa White *Kenny Fries *Mary Elizabeth Parker *Kyle Killen *Stephen Roger Powers *Ed Sams *Mark Wisniewski *Walter Griffin *Soma Mei Sheng Frazier {{Col-end}}

== Trivia ==

* The transition of numbering copies of ''Reed Magazine'' from Issue 70 instead to Issue 150 in 2017 was because the literary journal was celebrating its 150th anniversary. **The last copy to use the term "volume" was ''Reed Magazine'' 66. **After that, the magazine was labeled as "A literary Mosaic since 1867" for a couple years.

==See also== *List of literary magazines

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.reedmag.org/ ''Reed Magazine''] *[https://www.sjsu.edu/english/ ''SJSU Department of English & Comparative Literature''] *[http://www.sjsu.edu/ ''San Jose State University'']

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed Magazine}} Category:Literary magazines published in the United States Category:Annual magazines published in the United States Category:Magazines established in 1948 Category:Magazines published in California Category:San Jose State University