The Manuscript, 1927-1932

Title: The Manuscript, 1927-1932

ID: PUB 010-13b

Primary Creator: Oregon State College. Department of English.

Extent: 0.15 cubic feet. More info below.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The Manuscript literary magazine was published by the Oregon State College English Department in the late 1920s to early 1930s to highlight writing by Oregon State students.  The contents included poetry, essays, and short fictional pieces written by students primarily for composition courses.

Items from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.

The Manuscript literary magazine was published by the Oregon State College English Department in the late 1920s to early 1930s to highlight writing by Oregon State students.  The contents included poetry, essays, and short fictional pieces written by students primarily for composition courses.  Several issues include sketches and linoleum block prints depicting campus scenes and portraits of Oregon State faculty.  Twelve issues of The Manuscript were published.

The first issue was published in spring 1927; the remaining eleven issues were published continuously, once per academic quarter from winter 1929 through spring 1932.  The collection also includes an index of authors and titles, with a section of the index devoted to poetry.  All 12 issues of The Manuscript and the index are available in Oregon Digital.

The Manuscript grew out of the success of a special issue of  the Orange Owl that was coordinated by the English Department -- the Literary Number, published in June 1926.  This first issue was “not … an organ of the English Department, but a student enterprise sponsored by the department.”  The editorial and business staff were all students.

After a two-year hibernation, The Manuscript returned in Winter 1929 as a publication of the English Department in the form of a literary magazine of pieces written by students, primarily for composition courses and designed to serve as a “laboratory manual” for analysis and discussion in composition courses.  The editorial committee of faculty was led by John M. Kierzek, chair of the English Department.

Beginning with the fall 1929 issue, The Manuscript added a Student Board of Editors to the faculty Editorial Committee.  The first student board had four members: Dorothy L. Anderson; Audred Arnold; Bert Evans; and Enelse Janzen.

Several student writers have pieces published in multiple issues:  Dorothy L. Anderson, Audred Arnold, Helen Hawkes Battey, Bert Evans, Enelse D. Janzen, Emma Wintler Johnson, Ardyth M. Kennelly, and Elwood A. McKnight.

The Manuscript ceased publication in 1932.

More Extent Information: 1 box

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: This collection consists of one issue received by the former University Archives in the 1980s.  The remaining issues and the index were transferred from the Library's circulating collection to this archival collection in 2015.

Related Materials:

The Manuscript is also available in the History of Oregon State University Collection with this call number: PS504 .M32

Other publications of Oregon State students' literary and creative output include:  The Lamplighter (PUB 010-13d) ; The Orange Owl (PUB 010-13c); and, most recently, The Prism (PUB 013-9).  Materials pertaining to the English Department are part of the College of Liberal Arts Records (RG 143).  Papers of several English Department faculty are held by the Special Collections and Archives Research Center, including: Peter Copek,  Bernard Malamud, and M. Ellwood Smith.

Preferred Citation: The Manuscript (PUB 010-13b), Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information:

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online. SCARC describes the contents of its collections using the language and terminology of the collections themselves. Since culturally acceptable terminology shifts over time, some of the terms that appear in these materials are currently outdated or offensive.

In this collection, the term “gypsy”, which is considered derogatory, is used to describe Roma people. It comes from the word “Egyptian,” where many Europeans mistakenly believed the Romani came from. In 1971, at the First World Roma Congress, a majority of attendees voted to reject the use of the term “gypsy,” however some still use it to self-identify. There are no references to this term in the finding aid, but it does appear in materials that have been scanned and uploaded to Oregon Digital.

In order to provide historical context and to enable standardized searching and access across our collections, we have retained the original wording. We acknowledge the racism represented by the term “gypsy” and the harm it may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes or behavior depicted therein. For more information, please see our blog post.

[Date of Acknowledgement: November 2024]

Oregon State College. Department of English.

College students' writings, American--Oregon--Corvallis.
College students--Oregon--Corvallis.
English language--Study and teaching (Higher)--Oregon--Corvallis.
Oregon State College--Students.
Oregon State College. Department of English.
Student publications--Oregon--Corvallis.
University History