Mather Residents Start Literary Magazine

A small group of Mather House residents launched the first edition of Increase, an in-House literary magazine, last weekend.

The 30-page bi-annual publication is being touted as the only House-based literary publication at the College. Its title plays on the name of former Harvard President Increase Mather, Class of 1656.

The magazine incorporates poetry, fiction, art and photography submitted by House residents.

Increase Founder Niki Villanueva Santo '00, said the impetus for starting the magazine was a desire to bring together the creativities and talents of students from Mather's diverse blocking groups.

"I thought it would be wonderful to capture this aspect of the University in a literary magazine because it seemed like the most natural aspect of living together," Villanueva Santo said.

According to Editor-in-Chief Erwin R. Rosinberg '00, the magazine used all of the submissions it received, rather than selecting only key pieces, as often occurs with some other campus literary publications.

"What we really wanted to do was represent everyone who wanted to submit," said Rosinberg, who is also a Crimson editor. "If you're a Harvard student and you feel confident enough to submit your work to a publication, it's probably good enough to be read and appreciated by other students as well."

To fund the project, the magazine applied for several campus-based grants--securing one each from the Office of the Arts and the ArtsFirst committee.

In addition, the publication received support from House Co-Masters Sandra A. Naddaff '75 and Leigh G. Hafrey '73. According to Villanueva Santo, Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III also gave the group a personal donation when its request for an official grant from his office was denied.

Villanueva Santo said her hope is that other Houses will follow Increase's lead and create similar in-House publications.

"There should be opportunities from communities to create a piece of work that shares individuals' ideas, creativity and arts for themselves and others," she said.