Our History

Splatter! was founded in the fall of 1989 by two Yale undergraduates. As sophomores, Jessica Reich and Jessica Plumb decided to start a literary magazine for New Haven middle schoolers. Most of the first semester was spent in establishing relationships, both with Dwight Hall and the New Haven public schools, and building support and excitement from other Yale undergraduates. In its early years, the Splatter! staff consisted of approximately 15 to 20 Yale undergraduates. In one highlight of the first semester, 15 members spent several hours in Calhoun's common room one night searching and agonizing over an exciting name for the magazine, with the final decision coming between Splatter! and Elephant Toes.

The first issue was printed in May 1990. Splatter! asked New Haven middle schools, public and private, for submissions. Several submissions came from school newspapers. A few also came from the Dixwell Girls Club. The majority of the submissions came from three middle schools: Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School, Troup Middle School, and Roberto Clemente Middle School. The first semester's submissions formed a strong magazine, but it was difficult to select the best pieces from such a small pool of submissions.

The members consequently decided to conduct writing workshops for the next issue of Splatter!, Two writing workshop coordinators (Marisa Gonzales and Maria Morelli) led teams of Yale undergraduates in conducting the workshops at Betsy Ross, Troup, Roberto Clemente, and Sheridan. The New Haven teachers were extremely supportive, particularly Mrs. Sperry from Sheridan and Mr. Guidone from Roberto Clemente. Inspiration for these workshops came from Kenneth Koch's books "Rose Where Did You Get That Red" and "Wishes, Lies and Dreams" and (on a tip from a Yale senior, Larry Berger) Wallace Stevens' "Someone Puts A Pineapple Together".

The illustrations in the first two issues of Splatter! were by staff members. For the third issue (May 1991), the students began illustrating. After conducting writing workshops each semester, the members led illustration workshops with students in other classrooms. As a result, the students were able to read and think about pieces written by students at another school as they illustrated. This has continued to serve as the basic model for the magazine until this day.

Seed funding for Splatter! came from Dwight Hall. In 1991, Jessica Reich received Dwight Hall's Humanitarian Award, a $1,800 award given directly to Splatter!, as well as Yale's Outstanding Leadership in Service to the New Haven Community award. That same year Splatter! won a $1,000 grant from the Seymour L. Lustman Memorial Fund, a family foundation. We also did some periodic, small fundraisers targeted at Yale undergraduates.

Today, Splatter! is coordinated by two ambitious undergraduates and visits several local schools. It continues to grow in size, volunteer commitment, and service to the community at an amazing rate. Over 1000 copies of the magazine are distributed each semester to schools and public libraries.

Splatter! is a registered undergraduate organization & a member of Dwight Hall.

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