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PRISM MAGAZINE
A Brief History of PRISM
At the time of its creation in 1959, PRISM was the only Canadian literary magazine west of Toronto; it is the oldest literary magazine in Western Canada. PRISM's historical position is therefore unique; its issues are illustrative of the formation of West Coast, as well as Canadian literature, at a crucial point in its development. Because of its commitment to international as well as Canadian literature, it also reflects the influence of international literature on Canadian writers.
Prism, as it was then known, was founded in 1959 by a group of Vancouver writers and teachers, including several members of UBC's Department of English. In the one-page editorial for the first issue, Jan de Bruyn, who served as Prism's first editor, articulates the initial mandate as a commitment to literary work rather than criticism, and to a catholic editorial approach: "because there are too few literary periodicals which will devote the whole of their space to imaginative writing, and because the realm of criticism is, to say the least, adequately dealt with in several ways, Prism publishes no critical articles or reviews. Second, because as our title suggests, we are 'prismatic,' we do not confine ourselves to any one color band in the literary spectrum, but will provide for our readers all possible range in forms, techniques, themes and styles that we can extract from our contributors." From the beginning, de Bruyn set the mandate of the journal as encouraging new talent: "the editors of Prism are deeply conscious of their responsibility to young people seriously interested in writing and with gifts of mind and sensitivity which give value to their work. We intend, whenever the opportunity arises, to introduce such creative talent to our readers."
PRISM maintained its commitment to new writers, and can be seen as providing something of a nursery to a national literature in its infancy, showcasing the work of upcoming authors such as Margaret Laurence, Margaret Atwood, Irving Layton and Al Purdy, whose works have become iconic of Canadian literature. In 1963, Prism became affiliated with the Department of Creative Writing at UBC. In 1964, Earle Birney, founder of Creative Writing at UBC, became Editor in Chief, and the University became the publisher. Despite the concurrent rise of a fervent Canadian nationalism, under Birney Prism International, as it then became named, began publishing the work of authors from around the world, including such international titans as Jorge Luis Borges and Tennessee Williams, along with Nobel Prize winners Salvador Quasimodo, Vincente Aleixandre, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Seamus Heaney. Following editors were Jake Zilber (one of the founders) and Michael Bullock; then George McWhirter and C.J. Newman became joint editors. In 1978, PRISM international became the first student-edited literary journal in Canada. At present, PRISM international continues to maintain this tradition of literary excellence, publishing established and emerging writers from around the world.
[SEE JAN DE BRUYN'S LONGER VERSION OF THIS STORY INCLUDED FURTHER BELOW]
At the time of its creation in 1959, PRISM was the only Canadian literary magazine west of Toronto; it is the oldest literary magazine in Western Canada. PRISM's historical position is therefore unique; its issues are illustrative of the formation of West Coast, as well as Canadian literature, at a crucial point in its development. Because of its commitment to international as well as Canadian literature, it also reflects the influence of international literature on Canadian writers.
Prism, as it was then known, was founded in 1959 by a group of Vancouver writers and teachers, including several members of UBC's Department of English. In the one-page editorial for the first issue, Jan de Bruyn, who served as Prism's first editor, articulates the initial mandate as a commitment to literary work rather than criticism, and to a catholic editorial approach: "because there are too few literary periodicals which will devote the whole of their space to imaginative writing, and because the realm of criticism is, to say the least, adequately dealt with in several ways, Prism publishes no critical articles or reviews. Second, because as our title suggests, we are 'prismatic,' we do not confine ourselves to any one color band in the literary spectrum, but will provide for our readers all possible range in forms, techniques, themes and styles that we can extract from our contributors." From the beginning, de Bruyn set the mandate of the journal as encouraging new talent: "the editors of Prism are deeply conscious of their responsibility to young people seriously interested in writing and with gifts of mind and sensitivity which give value to their work. We intend, whenever the opportunity arises, to introduce such creative talent to our readers."
PRISM maintained its commitment to new writers, and can be seen as providing something of a nursery to a national literature in its infancy, showcasing the work of upcoming authors such as Margaret Laurence, Margaret Atwood, Irving Layton and Al Purdy, whose works have become iconic of Canadian literature. In 1963, Prism became affiliated with the Department of Creative Writing at UBC. In 1964, Earle Birney, founder of Creative Writing at UBC, became Editor in Chief, and the University became the publisher. Despite the concurrent rise of a fervent Canadian nationalism, under Birney Prism International, as it then became named, began publishing the work of authors from around the world, including such international titans as Jorge Luis Borges and Tennessee Williams, along with Nobel Prize winners Salvador Quasimodo, Vincente Aleixandre, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Seamus Heaney. Following editors were Jake Zilber (one of the founders) and Michael Bullock; then George McWhirter and C.J. Newman became joint editors. In 1978, PRISM international became the first student-edited literary journal in Canada. At present, PRISM international continues to maintain this tradition of literary excellence, publishing established and emerging writers from around the world.
[SEE JAN DE BRUYN'S LONGER VERSION OF THIS STORY INCLUDED FURTHER BELOW]
Submitted on April 2, 2008 in By David.
