* The Art Club Newsletter (free publication), various issues, Fall 1994-Spring 1995, East High School
During my final semester with the East High School Art Club (during which I was elected President), I provided the group with its own newsletter, for which I was the apparent editor-in-cheif. The newsletter was created by me, and had not been an Art Club tradition prior to Fall 1994.
Its issues mostly consisted of four pages (two one-sided sheets), though two of them were special eight-page double issues.
As "cheif editor", I compiled these newsletters at home and school, and xeroxed in black-and-white at East High (initially in the guidance office, then in the main office). By early Spring 1995, the club's advisor forced me to reduce the issues' size from two sheets to merely one.
The issues consisted of photos taken by me, as well as articles, artwork, interviews, music reviews, and poetry by me and (the few times that they felt like it) other Art Club members. The general design of the pages was my own, and contributions from other members were not always as plentiful as I wanted them to be, leaving me alone to do most of the work.
I spent a number of late nights at home making sure that there would be a new newsletter for every week that there was an Art Club meeting.
In addition to over thirty issues, I also printed two major publications: The Art Club Chronicles 1993-1994 (1995 Revised Edition, 18 pages), and Chronicles '95 (24 pages), which were day-by-day history books about the Art Club.
At the end of the '94-'95 year, I graduated from East High, hoping that the tradition of Art Club newsletters would continue without me. It didn't.
By Spring 1997, I had completed a "box set" called "Art-ifacts", a limited-edition folder that included leftover original printings of over half of the issues of the newsletter, as well as some newly-computer-printed supplements featuring other articles from and about the newsletters, and topped off with a signed Art Club "certificate of authenticity". Only five copies of this set were made, with one copy to remain in my possession, and another copy given to my third cousin (and former fellow East High student) Krystal Taylor.
* The Crier (free publication), various issues, Spring 1996-Spring 1998, Corning Community College
The official newspaper of Corning Community College, it gave me an opportunity to publish my poetry on a regular basis. During my first year at CCC (Fall '95-Spring '96), I had donated several articles to the paper, but only one poem. The second year, I joined the staff itself, but because of inner disorganization thanks to several members, I had only managed to publish three more poems (all within the year's last issue) in Year Two. In my third and final year, I became the staff secretary, and got to publish eight poems. Outside of the poetry, I donated many photos, as well as articles, editorials, and reviews of internet pages and local drama club productions.
* Essence of a Dream, Spring 1997, The National Library of Poetry, Maryland
After reading an ad in a local paper, I entered a poetry contest to which I stood a chance of winning a lot of money. I got no money, but my poem--"I Am the Night"--was published in one of the poetry company's expensive, hardcover books. I did not purchase this book, but I did order a nice wooden plaque with my poem printed onto it. By Spring 1998, I was still getting mail from this publishing company, asking me to order everything from an audio cassette of my poem in song form (!), and invitations to poet conferences. In late '96 or early '97, I was given a chance to have my name put onto a web site...for $100. A few months later, I got my own web site for free! One more note: They also posted my poem on their own 'net page.
* The Leader (free publication), Fall 1999 (November 8) and Spring 2000 (March 27), SUNY College at Fredonia
The official newspaper of my second college, its first mention of me (in an article about a Fall 1998 play I did) listed me as "David Allen". However, the paper made up for that typo by printing a large article about my student film "Retro Man" in Spring 1999.
That same Spring, I submitted a poem for their once-a-semester "Extra" edition, which featured a section devoted entirely to art and poetry. However (for some reason involving the Leader staff), no "Extra" was printed that semester.
Then, in Fall 1999, I did a ten-part "Retro Man" comic strip that was featured weekly in the paper. In addition to that, two poems of mine were featured in that semester's "Extra".
The following semester's "Extra" published two more poems of mine, one of which appeared with a few typos, not the least of which was spelling my middle name "Allen". That same semester, I tried to do a comic strip called "Random Acts of Senseless David" (a current-events commentary strip with no recurring characters), but gave up on it after only two "episodes" because A) I felt little desire to continue drawing, and B) plugs for my campus TV show were removed from the bottom of each strip (in accordance to a no-free-ads policy).
* Scop (free publication), April 1996 edition, Corning Community College
The annual CCC literary magazine, its staff consisted mainly of the college's poetry and writing classes. Being in these classes during my first year at the college, I had the good fortune of publishing several new works (which doubled as class assignments) into the 1996 issue of this book. My works in this issue included four poems, as well as a one-act play, and a short story. On the first and last inside pages of the book was an illustration of mine that I feel should have been put on the front cover, but was turned down--by the rest of my writing class, when I wasn't there!--in favor of some other person's drawing (a situation that I have still felt very bitter about in the years to follow).
The magazine was associated with an annual literary contest, for which I won three cash prizes (one for my play, two for my poetry) that gained me a total of $75 in winnings during the '95-'96 college year.
The following year, I entered three poems into the contest, but none of them won anything, and none were published. An illustration I submitted, however, was printed onto the front cover.
As for my third and final year at CCC, I was satisfied with having my poems published in the campus newspaper, so I contributed nothing to the '98 edition.
* Scribblings (free publication), Fall 2000 edition, SUNY College at Fredonia
Somewhat depressed about no longer being a Fredonia college student (having graduated in Spring 2000), I was pleased when my girlfriend Cindy (still a student there) offered to submit my poems to a campus lit-mag. After I sent her some of my more recent poetry over AOL Instant Messenger, she submitted two of them to Scribblings, who published them both (on the same well-designed page) in its Fall 2000 issue, which came out that December. Because of my status as a former Fredonia student, my poems were provided under my reccuring alias, "R.J. Sadbac".
* Vortex, mid-June 1995 edition, East High School
The first volume/issue of East High School's annual literary magazine was published in Spring 1994. Impressed with the magazine, I joined its staff the following year (my final year at East). Due to lack of contributions from other students, there was a lot of room for my own poetry--seventeen poems in all! But my contibutions to the magazine didn't stop there--I also donated four illustrations (one of which was printed on the cover), numerous "quotable quotes" from various books, and several drawings given to me by fellow Art Club members.
Though I was highly excited about the around-campus exposure my poetry would finally get from the release of this publication (escpecially for all the work I put into it), the magazine was not released until the last two days of classes at the school, so only several of its hundred-plus copies were bought at the time. So much for high hopes. The book made a nice addition to my archives, nonetheless.
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