The Apex of Interesting Reading

Maybe this will be easier if I list the reasons why I love this magazine:

1. It's weekly. How the editors build such a deeply considered, timely magazine each week I have no idea, but somehow they pull it off in high style. Time and again, this magazine unerringly gives me articles about the exact things that I was thinking about in the very recent past, or surprises me with articles on subjects that everyone will be talking about tomorrow. I also love that there's barely enough time to finish one issue before the next one shows up in my mailbox.

2. It's smart. Only the New York Times truly gives The New Yorker a run for its money in not pandering to its audience. Every week I learn something new, or consider a take on a subject that never previously occurred to me. Because of the intensity of the interest the writers have about their subjects, I'm also exposed to ideas and realities to which I otherwise would never have known existed, and I'm drawn in to subjects that I would never have guessed could be so fascinating. The medical, scientific, and political articles, in particular, allow me to understand concepts new to me.

3. It's about American culture (with a New York bent). No creative endeavor in America is too high brow or low brow for the New Yorker to comment upon. I've recently read profiles and reviews of wrestling, ballet, UPN, fashion, and the Oscars in its pages. I almost always agree with its opinions in matters of cultural taste, and when I don't, reviews I disagree with are easy to chalk up to the personal tastes of the writer in question since the writer admits as much. Somehow it manages to be informative and reasonable about culture without fawning over stars or feeling cheap . . . and it's rarely (too) stuffy.

4. The layout. Although the magazine has recently undergone a few changes in layout, overall it has managed to keep its elegant, easy-to-read style for decades. The typeface is inviting to the eye and the columns make even the longest articles seem bite-sized. And I'm always very grateful that The New Yorker doesn't ever break up its articles within an issue.

5. The New York liberal attitude. This attitude veers close to libertarian occasionally, but very rarely radical, which I appreciate. Everything seems to be considered part of the grand panorama of human life, and things are rarely judged as "bad" or "wrong"--just new or interesting.

6. The cartoons. These helped my entry into this magazine as a child, and I still love them dearly. Sometimes quietly amusing, sometimes bewildering, sometimes hysterical and fridge-magnet-worthy, the cartoons are always appropriate to American society that week. Roz Chast, in particular, has an eerie knack for exactly addressing something I was thinking about that week. I usually read the cartoons first and then go back and read through the magazine.

7. The Talk of the Town. Justly famous, this opening section provides light-hearted and insightful short takes on the news of the week. They're always interesting, often fascinating, and usually funny.

8. The cover. How rare it is to see a beautifully-painted, tongue-in-cheek illustration gracing the cover of a magazine each week that so often aspires to art. Ever since they published the half-empty/half-full glass of orange juice on the cover during the O.J. Simpson trial, I've stared at those covers, allowing myself to suss out every wonderful ticklish tidbit of meaning and delight they offer.

9. The writers. This is a writer's magazine. Even the coldest news is presented with a warm, intelligent, and most of all personal viewpoint. The New Yorker's writers never forget that what they're really reporting on is the human condition, and humanity is made up of people, with all the same triumphs and tribulations that we all share. You will meet people in this magazine's pages.

Two negatives:

1. The fiction. Occasionally, an amazing story by an amazing brand-name writer will grace the magazine, but the regular, weekly fiction suffers from a bland, "literary" sameness. I'd love to see the New Yorker break away from this kind of anemic writing, and become more daring with its short stories. I rarely recognize the characters in the stories as humans I know, and the situations and settings seem distant and rarified. I'd love to see more fiction that draws emotional blood, and paints in multicolored hues.

2. The poetry. Again, a touch of rough-and-tumble would help the magazine's poetry as much as its fiction. The genteel "natural" poetry and the weightless internal musings are delicate to the point of wispiness. I'd love to see language I recognize from speech on the street, and themes that cut as deep as their articles do. A sense of humor and a sturdy sense of directness could only help.

Other than those, subscribe. The New Yorker is filled with wonder.