Innovative Undergrad Magazine Has Debut

Cellar Door, an innovative new forum for undergraduate writing and graphic art, will appear in all of the undergraduate Houses this week.

Said the originators in a statement: "Our goal is to create a medium that unlocks the 'hidden talents' of Harvard undergraduates, and challenges every student, no matter what concentration, to look at herself or himself as an artist or creator. In contrast with the many excellent undergraduate magazines which are geared towards a specific agenda, political position, or style of writing, we have no agenda except to offer a non-traditional, non-hierarchical forum for undergraduates to display their many talents."

The work published in Cellar Door defies easy characterization; in this particular issue are some remarks on the death of god, musings on the political underpinnings of the movie The Dark Crystal, a humorous piece on "Cliff's Notes," a modern visual representation of Milton's Paradise Lost, an in-depth commentary on an art exhibit at Tufts, and many other creative endeavors. The inaugural issue also includes some more traditional forms of poetry and fiction.

Cellar Door's first issue was published with the generous assistance of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, the Office for the Arts, and the Undergraduate Council.

"Though we will need to rely on some grant money for the next couple of issues, the success of the first issue will give us the leverage to begin pursuing advertisements," the founders said. "We will be publishing the second issue of the magazine around Commencement and we hope eventually to become a quarterly publication."