Sanders characterized Quarterly writing as "perhaps weirder but definitely more direct. Our pieces tend to be raw, funnier and embodying a certain feeling of cutting loose."

The recent release of the second issue of The Harvard Quarterly provided much of the impetus that is spurring the more established magazines to seek out new writers and to maintain originality.

Chad C. Heap '90, former Padan Aram editor, recalled the hesitation entertained by Padan Aram and Advocate members when the Quarterly first appeared on the scene.

"There's no use publishing for the sake of publishing," Heap said. "But the Quarterly has managed to be innovative by publishing a novella in their first issue, agressively targetting previously unpublished writers and choosing to feature several poems by a single author."

New-found Diversity

And now the more traditional literary publications look on the newer journals as fostering a diversity which may encourage all campus publications to draw on previously untapped creative energies.

Viewing the challenge presented by the newer magazines with optimism, current Advocate President Rebecca E. Zorach '90 said that the competition is "good for the literary community because it spurs us all on."

Since the advent of younger publications, the Advocate has worked to shed its elite image by targeting writers who might otherwise be intimidated by its history. The magazine recently sponsored a contest issue which was closed to all Advocate members, in order to discover new writers.

Zorach said that the Advocate is also working on ways to limit the number of times the same author can be published in one year, so that it will encourage new voices in what is now a relatively small pool of writers.

Meanwhile, Padan Aram, the longest surviving "alternative" to the Advocate, is also confronted with questions of redefinition with each year that brings newer campus magazines.

"Padan Aram was originally founded by people who left the Advocate during a frustrating year-and-a-half hiatus," Heap explained. "For the past 14 years we have been a venue for writers who felt intimidated by the Advocate, since it used to publish only three or four poems an issue."

Padan Aram members cite the difficulty of breaking the "second-best" cycle that has plagued the magazine since its inception.

"We are not a magazine that publishes Advocate `rejects,'" Heap said. "Last year we published several previously unpublished writers through active solicitation."

Through an emphasis on plurality, Padan Aram tries to maintain its freshness despite the recent increase in "Advocate alternatives."

Current Padan Aram Editor Rebecca Hellerstein '92 has announced the magazine's plans to sponsor readings by minority and gay and lesbian students in the spring.