The New Yorker is a weekly publication which specializes in providing its readers with New York arts, world news, mysterious ads for unattainable outfits, and humor which strives to elevate the common brow to a more intellectual position. It contains fiction, nonfiction, epistles, and comics. The periodical provides an up-to-date and engaging portrayal of urban smartness with a tiny but worthwhile liberal education in every issue.
Most importantly, the editors of The New Yorker seem to uphold a sacred oath not to sacrifice the precision of a statement's words for the sake of readability. Words like "aegis," "lagniappe," and "folderol" are not slashed away and replaced with the active voice, food-time phrases given us by the art of marketing. The New Yorker respects its readers by not simplifying its articles for the least educated person who could possibly afford the magazine.
Throughout the magazine's history its contributing artists have taken journalism to strange new places. According to Ronald Weber (1978), "Especially during the sixties and seventies, The New Yorker... allowed nonfiction writers both the reporting time to develop their subjects in depth and the editorial space to shape them in fresh and inventive ways" (p 487). Like N.P.R., this periodical is not afraid to dedicate a lot of content to an obscure subject: Tony Bennett's favorite suit, T.S. Eliot, or even a rabbi's disdain for postmodern decor.
The research methods of these journalists are diverse. Some are obsessive, some are tangential. Some lunge into battle zones, like Dexter Filkins recording the words of the doomed Pakistani reporter Syed Shahzad (2011): "Look, I'm in danger. I've got to leave Pakistan" (p. 50). Others like Alec Wilkinson report on native obscurities. In his article about Drew Eckmann's pop star house concerts in New Jersey, Wilkinson (2011) admits, "Really, though, it's just Drew's house" (p. 52). The magazine thrives on any approach that can be nurtured through exposition.
Robert Rounds, a composition professor, defended his use of The New Yorker as a textbook in the Journal of College Composition and Communication (1968): "What text comes out, as mine does, with a fresh edition weekly, impeccably edited, full of stimulating writing of all kinds, all of it top-notch but none of it yet `literature' that must perforce be appreciated" (p. 223)? A year-long subscription of fifty-two issues costs no more than the average English textbook, and the bonus of receiving pleasant mail at least once a week brings a joy which age cannot dull.
Bill Osgerby (2001) found that The New Yorker in its earliest years "Appealed to moneyed, young, liberal aesthetes who were providing a ready market for the growing constellation of theatres and galleries" (p. 546), thus creating a forum for men and women loyal to the arts and immune to controversy. After ninety years this highly attuned journal is still there to fund the most clever analysis of whatever new school of Artistic thought may emerge.
I recommend The New Yorker with vehemence to all readers, but especially to those who wish to write for a living. Its style may not fit with the blunt technicality of a press release, and its vocabulary may not behoove a writer for a local paper; but it is an excellent weekly tool for helping a writer see how ideas can develop, what is being admired in the artistic domain, and who is about to release a rather sassy art book of photographs detailing various playgrounds of Europe.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the manufacturer
Started as a weekly in 1925, The New Yorker is an American magazine known for its reporting, political and cultural commentary, fiction, poetry, humor, and more.
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
ReportingPulitzer Prize-winning journalism, reports, and analysis on Washington and the world. |
CultureThe latest in TV, movies, and music, as well as each week’s Goings On About Town. |
The New Yorker CrosswordNow available in every issue, with the solution arriving the following week. |
HumorThe cartoons and other funny stuff you need to get through the day. |
Reviews with images
Submit a report
A few common reasons customers report reviews:
- Harassment, profanity
- Spam, advertisement, promotions
- Given in exchange for cash, discounts
When we get your report, we'll check if the review meets our Community guidelines. If it doesn't, we'll remove it.
