Hydra was a literary magazine published by former Rhode Island College (RIC) Helicon student staff. In 1967, after Helicon’s advisor, John Salesses, refused to allow a poem to be published, the student staff resigned and formed Hydra. The students who left Helicon also withdrew their previously submitted poems from the magazine, choosing instead to publish them in Hydra alongside the controversial poem. Although Hydra was not the official literary magazine of RIC and was not financed by the college, the RIC administration permitted its circulation. There is only one known issue.
Note: It is unknown at the time this collection description was written which was the controversial poem published in Hydra.
The collection contains a single issue of Hydra literary magazine.
Researchers are advised to contact Rhode Island College Special Collections for questions regarding permissions to reproduce, distribute, or otherwise publish material from this collection. Although Rhode Island College has physical ownership of the collection, it does not necessarily hold literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
The collection is open for research.
Hydra, CA-0116, Special Collections, James P. Adams Library, Rhode Island College.
The collection is in original order.
Provenance of this collection is unknown, however it was been in the holdings of Special Collections prior to 2019.
The collection was described in 2025 by Veronica L. Denison, Digital Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at Rhode Island College.
Works used in preparation of inventory: Administrative history was taken from: Hosey, James, James Haworth. “The Anchor (1967, Volume 39 Issue 14).” Rhode Island College, April 26, 1967. https://digitalcollections.ric.edu/record/4982.
The collection has been digitized and is available in Rhode Island College Digital Collections.