A history of the oldest continuous university publication in Canada
“The students of Victoria College have decided to publish a monthly paper in the interest of the College Societies, to be known as ACTA VICTORIANA. It will contain: short literary articles by College men; local items of interest to the Students and their friends; general College and Educational news; and Editorials upon Educational questions—especially upon questions of interest to the Alumni and friends of Victoria University.” (Acta Victoriana 1:1, Prospectus)
Vic has long been considered one of the premier places for young writers, bibliophiles, and humanity-focused academics in Canada, with an illustrious history of writers such as Margaret Atwood, E.J. Pratt, Richard Outram, and Jay Macpherson. Founded in 1877, Acta Victoriana is the oldest university student-run publication in Canada. Providing an early career forum for authors, Acta’s diverse history provides insight into the way that Vic has developed as an institution based in excellence, diversity, and creativity.
Thomas W. Campbell, Acta’s founder, stated the purpose of the journal as “a record of the ‘doings at Victoria’…racy, entertaining and amusing as well as instructive.” For most of the journal’s history, Acta’s content looked vastly different from the poetry and prose that are now published. Content like sports and travel columns, gossip, humour, and science were all seen in the earlier years of the journal. Tracing the development of such a publication in the history of Victoria College is valuable in looking at how our community has grown and shifted through time.
Vic becoming a part of the University of Toronto in 1892 saw the content and distribution of the journal broaden—focus was placed on impacting the larger UofT and Toronto communities.
A note of significance is what can be learned about Vic’s situation in broader cultural, political, and social events from different time periods, through Acta. In the October 1914 edition, Victoria College president, Richard Pinch Bowles remarked on the ongoing First World War: “events of deepest significance to the Empire and to the world have with bewildering suddenness come to pass… Ours is not a cloistered world. We seek no splendid isolation. We are in and of the national life a sensitive and very vital part.” Even as far back as 1914, Vic’s engagement in and commitment to the broader world, both socially and academically, is clear. Another piece in the same issue is titled “The Causes of the Great War” and goes into detail about events leading up to WWI.
Northrop Frye, the prominent Canadian literary theorist, was Acta Victoriana’s Editor-in-Chief in 1932 and was significant in his inclusion of literary criticism. This tradition can be seen as recently as last year, with criticism and reviews by editorial board members. Frye would go on to become the Principal and Chancellor of Victoria College, a visiting professor at Harvard University, and a Companion of the Order of Canada.
It wasn’t until the 1950s that Acta developed into a format similar to the one that exists now, publishing new poetry and prose along with some literary criticism.
Acta maintains a blind selection process in order to provide equal and unbiased opportunity for all writers. In more recent years, Acta has included work by a variety of queer and trans people, people of colour, and newcomers. That being said, the idea of inclusivity has held together their editorial board for a long time. Acta’s first female Editor was Mary Sutherland in 1894.
On continuing the tradition of literary citizenship at Vic, current Co-Editor-In-Chief Carl Christian Abrahamsen said: “Eleanor and I are contractually obliged to mention that Acta is the oldest literary journal in Canada to anybody who passes within five feet of us… In that sense, we are indebted to it… With no offense to our beloved patron saint, I try to talk about Margaret Atwood as little as I can. Acta in 2017 is focused on the genius of the writers we publish now, not those we published 50 years ago.” A writer himself, Abrahamsen’s writing was included in an issue of Acta in his first year. One thing that makes Acta unique is both its high caliber of writing and its inclusion of high profile Canadian writers, while still creating opportunities for students at Victoria College to publish their work.
Acta also gives students the opportunity to learn about the production and editing processes of putting together a literary journal through being entirely student led. The editorial board consists of one or two Editor(s)-in-Chief, up to ten associate editors, and a design editor. These students make all publication decisions themselves, meeting as a board to review every submission. Acta receives funding from Victoria University to print the journal at Coach House Press. On the agency of being a student editor, Abrahamsen remarked: “I have always preferred writing that is flawed but has moments of genius, the type that at least in some sentences transcends text, to what I would call Good Writing—the type that will always get an A in a creative writing class but will never bring anybody to tears… Of course, there are other important aspects to running Acta… But the most important part is publishing good writing, especially good writing that would otherwise be forgotten.”
Victoria College continues to uphold traditions of creative writing by hosting the Creative Expression and Society program which sponsors creative writing seminars with authors like Albert Moritz, David Gilmour, and Camilla Gibb. The development and success of newer literary publications, such as The Goose, exemplify the appreciation and market for creativity within the Vic community.
All past issues of Acta Victoriana are available as a special collection at E.J. Pratt Library, in a project undertaken in 1985 to preserve Victoria’s literary history.
Acta is looking to hire an Editorial Board for the upcoming year and applications are due on September 22nd. More information can be found at www.actavictoriana.ca
