CEDAR FALLS -- What started as a class project quickly became magazine publication and matchbook poetry for two former University of Northern Iowa students. Friedrich Kirksieck and Adam Moore were interning for Ron Sandvik, managing editor of UNI's North American Review, when he encouraged them to start some mini-publishing of their own.

Moore started a quarterly alternative magazine, Cesium, with the simple idea to produce " a magazine that me and my friends would like to read," he said. Cesium aims to cover art, media, culture and politics. Moore and his small staff use local outlets like Mohair Pear and Bought Again Books to help distribute copies, and they sell issues online.

"It's a lot of footwork because we don't have a distributor," he said.

Moore has graduated and now works in Iowa City, but continues to serve as editor in chief of the publication. UNI freshman Emily Berregaard has taken over as assistant editor for the recently-released fifth issue.

"I really enjoyed writing for the [high school] newspaper but it was really limited. You can't really write about things you enjoy," she said.

Because the magazine has no central office, she usually writes her stories on her laptop at Cup of Joe. Moore said the biggest challenges his staff have faced involve business and legal issues.

"We're more creative, we're kind of all thumbs when it comes to business," Moore said.

Luckily for them, Sandvik said most of these publications aren't out to turn a big profit.

"Very few make money off it, they're doing it for love of the printed word," said Sandvik.

Moore funded the first issue of Cesium with a student loan.

"When we started, lots of people were down on it, just because there isn't much of a market there," Moore said.

Things have changed, said Sandvik, as such publications fill a niche that is ill-served by corporate publishing.

"One of the things with small press, and we have a fairly lively market here in Iowa, is they can publish things that a larger corporation might not find profitable," he said. "If you're looking for something uniquely Iowan, we have a great tradition of it right here."

Kirksieck graduated from UNI in 2004 and is currently enrolled in the book arts program at the University of Alabama. Two years ago, he published 500 copies of 24-page poetry and image collections with matchbook covers. He got submissions through word-of-mouth advertising and campus students. The project has been on hiatus while he finishes his studies, but he hopes to publish a second set of matchbooks soon.

"I'd love to do it for a living, but right now it's more of a side pursuit," he said, adding that he views small presses as something people do with their free time and extra money.

"It's a means to get the best design and work out and the ability to choose and publish people that you want to and in a format that's desirable," he said.

Justin Kader, a recent graduate of Wartburg College, stumbled upon his alternative press experience in a slightly different way. He joined the staff of the Bugle, a satirical newspaper in the style of the Onion, his junior year and took over as co-editor with Thomas Hansen his senior year.

"We were part of the liberal minority on campus. …It was just mostly a creative outlet to make some critiques about Wartburg College and life at Wartburg and I think it expanded a little bit more to politics in general," said Kader.

Kader added that the three issues of the paper were not put out in anger or frustration.

"We're in Waverly, Iowa, so in order to have fun, you kind of have to get creative a little," he said.

Though he would like to see the Bugle continue, so far no one has been up to the task.

Another booming, albeit cheaper, form of publishing is the blog, Sandvik said.

"The technology advent of the blog has decreased the need for formalized publications," he said.

With blogs, would-be writers can publish their thoughts on the expansive reaches of the Internet for little or no money.

In the end, said Moore, small press may be more about self-expression than anything.

"We just keep going, keep discovering our voice, get it into as many people's hands as we can. It's not so much a business as a creative outlet."

{M3Want more alternative press?

{M3You can purchase Cesium at www.cesium-online.com or by sending check or money order payable to Cesium Magazine, 7004 Surrey Drive N.E., Cedar Rapids, IA 52402. Issues are $4.95 each. The Bugle and Kirksieck's matchbook poetry are not currently available for sale.