Students Writing 1931-1957

Click on the cover to read the issue (PDF).

The Advent was published once, in the fall of 1940. It was edited by Joseph Shober ’42, Seymour Keidan ’41, and Robert Connolly ’40.

On a page titled “Policy,” the editors wrote:

The editors of ADVENT are introducing themselves to the readers in this, our first, issue by publishing samples of their work.

We are all young men who are just beginning to write, and we are sure that there are many others like us throughout the country. It is for these people, the young writers, that this magazine is being published. Our philosophy is simple. We believe that the best literature is that of the people – written by, for, and about them. We don’t write about anything that matters, as seen from the eyes of the “artists” – we write about little things, little people – guys named Louie and Herman. It is our idea that these are the things that matter in the end, and we invite all those who sympathize with us to cooperate in this endeavor …

… Politically, we are a conglomerate group. Progressive in general, anti-war, and for the things that we think will help us and our friends to live a little better. Above that, we have no creed as a group.

Shober worked for the Morning Free Press of Easton before serving in the Army Air Forces in World War II. He died in service in November 1944. Keidan published two volumes of poetry, No Choice and Moments in Struggle, wrote other poems and short stories, and reported for newspapers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey before serving in the Army. He was killed in the war in Europe in December 1944. Connolly worked for the Morning Free Press and then he, too, served in the Army. He would eventually become a lieutenant colonel. After the war he joined the staff of the Easton Daily Express, and later was a freelance writer.

To read a PDF scan of the issue, click on the cover image above.

Seymour Keidan, Class of 1941.

Address to a Decade

Goodby, dead Thirties. Do not rise again
to haunt your children in the Forties; should
such happen, as is your proclivity,
I shall consult hyetographs of tears –
such tears that come from children’s eyes – who know
dreams of accomplishment have turned to looms
for khaki cloth, to molds for instruments
the flesh no longer can resist.

Goodbye, dead Thirties. But I see the ghost
of Hamlet’s father for the moment of
instruction rise – as if the vapor of
the past shapes into human form and cries:
“Do this! Destruction from the skies!”

From Vanity, papers from English 41, January 1940
Seymour Keidan, Class of 1941

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To read a PDF scan of the paper “Use of the Aerial Photograph” by George R. Muth, Class of 1949, click on the image at left.

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Tacoma Bridge Failure and Subsequent Developments in Suspension Bridge Design

The two criteria which Civil Engineers must always consider in design are; “Have I made the most economical use of available materials?” and, “Am I confident the structure will function properly and safely?” The history of suspension bridge design is a history of the adjustment of these two criteria.

Civil Engineering paper, William F. Anderson, Class of 1948

Engineering students with a concrete testing machine.