The Geneseo Literary Magazines project was conceived and implemented by Lara Mangino, a spring 2021 graduate of Geneseo and is the result of a year-long Capstone sponsored by the Edgar Fellows Program. As Editor-in-Chief of MiNT Magazine and Creative Nonfiction Reader for Gandy Dancer, Lara was deeply involved in literary magazines at Geneseo. However, despite her high level of engagement, she knew very little about the history of magazines at Geneseo and upon exploration, found that there were a number of old publications that very few people–faculty, students, or staff–knew anything about or had ever seen.

From September 2020 to May 2021, Lara scanned the old paper literary journals and magazines in order to make them easier to find and view by a wider audience. She worked in conjunction with Professor Rachel Hall of the English Department; Liz Argentieri, the Special Collections librarian in Fraser Hall (Milne) Library; as well as a number of other faculty, staff, and students. Jessica Vance, a spring 2022 graduate of Geneseo, took over the project from Lara in fall 2021. Jessica finished scanning the library’s collection, and set up the project to continue post graduation through advertising and physical displays of the printed journals in both Welles Hall near Geneseo’s English Department and in the library.

These literary treasures are now easily accessible to everyone and showcase the rich history and artistic merit of half a century of Geneseo students.