Chekhov's Mistress
Whither the Paris Review?
You know the brou-hah-hah over The Paris Review is getting big when Newsweek decides to give it some attention (it’s a web-only piece, but still). Here’s an interesting bit:
Perhaps the biggest change is reflected in Guinzburg’s comment to the press that they wanted “grown-ups” to take over. This, says one former staffer, is a departure from Plimpton’s view of the magazine. “The Paris Review has always been run by twenty- and thirty-somethings,” he says. “And really, George was always a 20-something at heart.” The board insists that it is not trying to betray Plimpton’s legacy, but to keep the magazine relevant and vibrant by selling more subscriptions and heightening its public profile.
Let’s now flash back to Dan Wickett’s interview with the former editor:
Dan: You were selected as Plimpton’s successor at what I would consider a fairly young age of 30. I’m not that familiar with literary journals, and while I realize that skill and ability (such as your having been the Managing Editor for 3 years) should outweigh age as a factor, is it common for one so young to be running an established journal?
Brigid: I’m not a historian of literary magazines. But I don’t think there’s an age requirement for the job. George loved editing the magazine at twenty-seven and at seventy-six.
Hmmm. I also wonder if appealing and being relevant to a larger audience includes upping the space provided for journalism. As the Newsweek piece indicates, Robert Silvers, founder of the NYRB, is on the board. And we all know how much that literary review has veered toward journalism at the expense of literature.
comments
I think that last comment is right on, Scott. I’ve been dismayed at the shift at the NYRB, and I noticed as I picked up my PR that the tone has changed and there seems to be a shift there too - particularly with the covers and what they imply. I’m with the politics, but I like my literary journals to be literary.
I guess there’s some subscription money that can go to one of the great new journals that have come around lately.
– Bud Parr (02/04 at 08:38 PM)
You know, I can almost forgive the NYRB because they are providing top notch journalism that in many cases is one of a kind and not available anywhere else. Also, I’ve “read” a lot of current political books through their reviews that I just would not have had time to get to otherwise. But still, something is lost there and while I’m sort of okay with one prominent literaty review going that way (and NYRB really is an exception in a number of ways) I really can’t feel good about TPR following suit, if that is what it’s doing.
– Scott (02/04 at 10:37 PM)
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About this Post
- Posted by: Bud Parr
- Date: February 04, 2005
- Filed Under:
Wise Men Fish Here: Literature
- Comments:2
- Links to this Post: Technorati
