New Toyon literary magazine set to release April 16 despite backlash

Cal Poly Humboldt’s literary magazine, Toyon, will be celebrating the release of their 71st issue, “Dispatches from the Global Intifada,”  with an event in the Goodwin Forum on April 16 from 1-4 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public, it will include live readings from the authors and an awards ceremony. 

Toyon is a multilingual journal of literature and art that is edited and produced by Cal Poly Humboldt students from different majors.The new issue is centered on the collective movements for the liberation of Palestine. The issue covers a wide range of contributors’ voices featuring poetry, collage, prose, protest journalism and original artwork. 

“The work that Toyon does in general…it’s about building a literary community both within and beyond the university,” said Toyon assistant manager Chrys Furrer. “And in particular with this issue is about building a movement and gathering people up with the movement towards liberation.”

Holly Rae is a graduate student and publisher for Toyon. In regards to the title of this issue, Rae shared that, “The word intifada was something that we felt strongly about using.” Intifada is an Arabic word which means ‘uprising’ or ‘shaking off’. 

“It’s an embodied word,” Rae said.

However, the title was the cause of some upset. Marcos Hernandez, the faculty advisor for Toyon, shared that the English department received multiple emails and phone calls early in the Fall semester from a student claiming to be a speaker on behalf of all Jewish students on campus and demanding the name be changed.

“Early on Toyon adopted a policy of non-engagement,” Hernandez said. “We felt that it was important for our department and our upper administration to take up this issue…we didn’t feel like anything good was going to come out of engaging with this group of students.”

In a later email the student also demanded that the project be shut down altogether and that the student staff and faculty advisor be reprimanded for their work on the magazine.

“Ultimately what resulted from that was a recognition that we’re operating within the bounds of free speech and free expression as students, as a student publication and so we went full steam ahead,” Rae said. 

For Rae, she hopes the issue will foster community and perpetuate the conversation of liberation in Palestine.

“We know that not everyone will agree with us, but that’s also the role that art plays in the development of culture over time,” Rae said. “Sometimes it’s controversial.”

The majority of submissions are from students and Humboldt locals, however some are international. This issue features submissions in  English, Spanish, Arabic, Italian and French.

“This is truly a global effort that went into this book,” Rae said. 

Toyon 71 will be available in print and digital formats on April 16. For more information you can follow Toyon on Instagram @toyonlitmag.