Return to me!
Every day this week, Samuel has come home from school expecting to have received the latest issue of his (free) Lego magazine. No luck. I share in his disappointment.
Today, then, we were happy to find a magazine in our mailbox.
But it wasn’t the Lego magazine. It was an unexpected, free issue of Harper’s.
Eveloping the regular cover was an outer cover, on which was printed this enticement:
I have to say, I’m put off. Harper’s Magazine is not my Heavenly Father.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
P.S. Even so: In the pretentious field of long-form journalism, Harper’s achieves a kind of modesty by going out of the way to pose as what, in Peppa Pig, is referred to as a “clever-clogs.” (The “clever-clogs” in Peppa Pig is Edmund Elephant.) The Harper’s style is to dress up serious reportage or reflection in snark.
Harper’s plays the wise fool.
The quintessential Harper’s article is Bertrand Russell’s “In Praise of Idleness” (1932).
Articles mentioned on this issue’s cover:
“Revolt in the Heartland: Can Old-Time Populism Save the Country?”
“Ghost Towns of the Darién Gap”
“On the Front Lines of Canada’s Ostrich War” (didn’t the Australians have an ostrich war? No, they fought the emus)
That I’ve been a more faithful subscriber of Harper’s than of, say, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, or The New York Review of Books surely reflects my own penchant for off-the-wall self-effacement.
Or that I’m a cheapskate. Those other mags are pricey.
Today, then, we were happy to find a magazine in our mailbox.
But it wasn’t the Lego magazine. It was an unexpected, free issue of Harper’s.
Eveloping the regular cover was an outer cover, on which was printed this enticement:
Dear Former Subscriber:And so on.
Remember the story of the prodigal son? How his father put on a feast and welcomed him back with open arms?
Well, that’s what we at Harper’s want to do for you.
Instead of setting a sumptuous table, we’ve come up with something far more satisfying: a money-saving opportunity to subscribe to Harper’s at the lowest available rate!
Restart your subscription today and get a full year of Harper’s (12 issues) for only $14.97 – that’s 86% off the annual newsstand price. You save $92.91 just by saying YES!
I have to say, I’m put off. Harper’s Magazine is not my Heavenly Father.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
P.S. Even so: In the pretentious field of long-form journalism, Harper’s achieves a kind of modesty by going out of the way to pose as what, in Peppa Pig, is referred to as a “clever-clogs.” (The “clever-clogs” in Peppa Pig is Edmund Elephant.) The Harper’s style is to dress up serious reportage or reflection in snark.
Harper’s plays the wise fool.
The quintessential Harper’s article is Bertrand Russell’s “In Praise of Idleness” (1932).
Articles mentioned on this issue’s cover:
“Revolt in the Heartland: Can Old-Time Populism Save the Country?”
“Ghost Towns of the Darién Gap”
“On the Front Lines of Canada’s Ostrich War” (didn’t the Australians have an ostrich war? No, they fought the emus)
That I’ve been a more faithful subscriber of Harper’s than of, say, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, or The New York Review of Books surely reflects my own penchant for off-the-wall self-effacement.
Or that I’m a cheapskate. Those other mags are pricey.
