The Literary Magazine of the Philolexian Society
Columbia University · Established MDCCCII
About the Magazine
The literary magazine of Columbia's oldest student organization, published three times a year since the Society's revival.
Surgam takes its name from the Philolexian Society's motto — "I shall rise" — first adopted in 1802. It is the magazine's job to make good on that promise three times a year: a Fall and a Spring issue collecting submissions from across the Columbia community, and a Winter issue given over to the winning poems of the Annual Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest.
The Fall and Spring editions are open to any form — poetry, short fiction, translations, essays, reviews, photography, and visual art — in any register, of any length the editors find defensible. Submissions are read year-round by the magazine's editorial board and selected, after rigorous discussion, on the principle that the magazine's first obligation is to publish the most original and surprising work it can find, and its second is to help the writers and editors who make it become better at what they do.
Pieces published in the Fall and Spring issues are eligible for the Philolexian Prize, awarded annually by the Columbia English Department to two written works. The Prize was established in 1906 from the original Philolexian Prize Fund, raised by alumni at the Society's semi-centennial in 1852 and one of the oldest endowed literary awards at the University. The competition is open to every Surgam contributor; eligibility to win is limited to undergraduates of Columbia College, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of General Studies, and Barnard College.
"To mutually improve its members in Oratory, Composition, and Forensic Discussion." — Article II, Constitution of the Philolexian Society
The editorial board — the Literary Czar, the Associate Wordsmiths, the Errata Eradicators, the Layout Wizard, and the Quaestor, collectively known under the Bylaws as the Surgam Syndicate — is appointed each semester by the Literary Czar with the approval of the Society's Moderator. Pieces are admitted to an issue by majority vote of the Syndicate; the same body chooses the winners of the Philolexian Prize from the year's two issues.
The magazine is sponsored in part by the Arts Initiative at Columbia University. The Philolexian Society Foundation underwrites the rest.
For submissions, write to submit2surgam@gmail.com.
More about the Society: The Philolexian Society of Columbia University.