Peter Carlson writes about magazines for The Washington Post. In celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Atlantic Monthly, he cheered on Tuesday that it’s no longer “the Michael Dukakis of magazines — smart and serious but about as much fun as a term paper.” Now, it’s apparently fascinating. But Carlson wasn’t a fan of their grandiose anniversary-edition schtick, 300-word essays on “the American idea.” He divided the essayists into two oafish camps, the axe-grinders and the cliché-mongers. But he didn’t dislike every essay. Get a load out of what delighted him:
And novelist Joyce Carol Oates flies off into a full-blown rant: “The American idea has become a cruel joke, a blustery and bellicose body-builder luridly bulked up on steroids, consequently low on natural testosterone, deranged and myopic, dangerous.”
Oh, Joyce Carol, you’re so cute when you’re mad! The ax-grinders are obnoxious but kind of fun.