ETSU’s newest publication, The Billy Goat, is coming to bring joy and laughter to both students of ETSU and others.
Collegiate humor magazines have been around for many years, with the nation’s first one, The Yale Record, founded in 1872. The Record created an absurdist style of comedy which mixed cultural references and other topics relevant to student life.
These humor magazines were published to bring happiness and laughter to the students at their college campuses. Since The Record, collegiate humor magazines have become popular among many universities, such as Princeton and Columbia. ETSU will be among those universities as its new magazine, The Billy Goat will be released soon.
“Absurd, not in a bad way but in a good way,” Stephanie Bishop explained.
Bishop, the editor of The Billy Goat, has high hopes for the new humor magazine. Her plans for the magazine include a wide variety of topics, possible collaborations and digital and print access. While The Mockingbird, ETSU’s literary publication, allows people to submit their own work, Bishop plans to branch out from the literary focus to a humor focused magazine that puts the spotlight on comics, jokes, artwork and short stories.
Bishop stated, “In our world right now there’s nothing really to laugh about…”
A quick scan of the content of the news and other media outlets might reveal a bleak outlook. Throughout our daily lives, we encounter information and circumstances that can be upsetting or stressful, which is one of the many factors behind The Billy Goat.
One of the common themes Bishop shared about the magazine was how it will spotlight the “absurdity of the modern world.” With a lighter edge and a variety of content, she hopes to allow creativity and humor to flow through the magazine.
Bishop is working with her editorial team to plan the initial publication of The Billy Goat. While exact dates are not set in place for its first release, be on the lookout for ETSU’s newest publication, The Billy Goat.
