I Just Read About That…

It took me going to Seattle to learn about The New Yorker magazine.  I was visiting my friend Rob and he was really surprised that I didn’t read the magazine all the time (my reading always seems to surprise people, see The Believer.)

Upon my first read of the magazine, I was surprised to see that the first twenty pages or so are taken up with upcoming shows: films, concerts, sports, everything.  I actually wondered how much content would be left after all that small print.

Since then I have learned that Sasha Frere-Jones writes columns in here quite often.  For reasons known only to my head, I was convinced that Sasha was a black woman.  Little did I realize that he is not.  And that he was in a band that I have a CD of called Ui.  He is an excellent resource for all things music, whether I like the artist he’s talking about or not.  Some entries are here.  This audio entry about Auto-Tune is simply fantastic.

But of course, there’s a lot of content.  And the first thing you get are letters.  I don’t think I have EVER looked at the letters section.

The real opening section (The Talk of the Town) is always short pieces about current news.  The first one is usually national (political) and then there’s one or two about New York, and then an esoteric piece (about a person, usually).  I used to make a point of reading all of these, but frankly, some I just don’t care about so I’ve become more practical about the magazine).

After that section there are a few longer pieces. They cover different topics each week and have headings like: The Financial Page, Annals of Education, The Political Scene etc.  You get the sense from the headings what is to come.  And usually they are well-considered essays.  Depending on me and on the subject I may or may not read these.  (I try to read a bit of each one just to get the gist).

Then comes Shouts & Murmurs: one or two page humorous articles (I’ve reveiwed a few here).  Usually they are by famous funny authors: Woody Allen, Ian Frazier, Simon Rich, George Saunders, etc.  (For a randomly selected Best of list, click here).

After this, we get the longer pieces.  Sometimes it’s a lengthy profile of a famous or not so famous figure.  These are always in-depth, like really in depth–back to their birth, in depth.  Some recent people include: Alec Baldwin, Michelle Obama, Grant Achatz (chef at a Chicago restaurant), Will Wright (creator of The Sims), etc.  The profiles are often designed around an Issue.  So it begins with the Issue and the jumps back into the person’s life.  They are written very well and are often very compelling.  Although for reasons of time,  I often skip around to the parts I care about.

There’s also a “Letter From” section.  Usually this is a piece from another location giving an update on a pressing issue there.  So Letter from California concerns “The rise of comedy driving school”; Letter from China concerns “How far can a journalist go.”   Or maybe there’s a “The Sporting Life” article, which is about, well, sports.

And then there’s the Fiction.  The New Yorker is probably the preeminent place to get your fiction published. It is really the creme de la creme that’s in here. And since the magazine goes back to like forever, there’s really first class literary talent in here.  It’s hard to pass up.  (Although from time to time an author I don’t care about shows up, so I just skip it).

Finally comes The Critics.  I enjoy the film critics very much.  Sometimes I read the book reviews.  I almost never read The Theatre. And the On Television section is fun.  These critics are all pretty highbrow and they take their task pretty seriously.

And, let’s no forget the cartoons.  Everyone loves New Yorker cartoons, whether they are hilarious, amusing, witty or absolutely inscrutable.  There’s so many cartoons in each issue that you’re bound to find one or two that tickle you.  There’s also a whole bunch of different styles on display in the magazine. Some I like and others I will skip because they never turn out as funny as I want (sorry Roz Chast, your premises are always hilarious, but the actual “punchline” parts just never do it for me).

For quite some time they have been doing a cartoon caption contest.  I must have submitted a dozen or so of these.  Obviously I never won, even though I have tried so many different techniques (New Yorker style or otherwise). And so I have basically given up.  Alas, destined to not be funny.

And lest I forget, the covers.  New Yorker covers are almost as famous as the fiction.  And some of them are fantastic.  Every once in a while it stirs up a controversy.  Sometimes they are topical, but often times they are just nice pictures, suitable for framing.  (You can order any cover or cartoon here).

And so this magazine shows in my mailbox every Tuesday, and I try to read it in fits and starts.  Sometimes I don’t get to the fiction for a few weeks, but I always make sure I don’t fall too far behind.

Original mention in Periodicals Page:

The New Yorker. The New Yorker falls sort of into the Harper‘s category, although without the fascinating back story. I always find a good article in there, and often enjoy the fiction. But mostly I like the news articles in the front.

For ease of searching I include: Toibin.