N+1
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n+1 is an American journal that publishes social criticism, political commentary, essays, art, poetry, book reviews, and fiction. It is published twice a year, in the Spring and the Fall. They also publish content on its website (www.nplusonemag.com) almost every week, usually on Monday or Tuesday. It is usually around 200 pages in length, ranging from 172 pages (Number Three) to 248 pages (Number Two).
n+1 began in the Fall of 2004. Editor Keith Gessen described it as, "like Partisan Review, except not dead." The editors launched their magazine out of a feeling of dissatisfaction with the current intellectual scene and they often cite the early years of Partisan Review as a model for their magazine, a period when the magazine was a site of innovation in arts and politics. The magazine also aims to fill an intellectual void left by the end of the monthy academic review, Lingua Franca. Mark Greif expressed their impetus, saying, "In order to start this thing you have to feel there's a kind of historical necessity." Their outlook is most frequently summed up by the last lines of their first issue when Keith Gessen proclaimed, "it is time to say what you mean." Yet in the Third Issue, James Wood responded to criticism of his negative criticism and, singling out this quote by Gessen, stated, "The Editors had unwittingly proved the gravamen of their own critique: that it is easier to criticize than to propose" (129).
They argue that their mission is to create a sense of intellectual cohesion. Kunkel said, "There's a tendency to ghettoize things that are important to us - there's fiction, there's essays and criticism, there's politics - and you can go and find journals about each of these things, but you can't go and find journals about all of those things." In each issue of n+1, the journal opens with a section called The Intellectual Situation [link], which criticizes aspects of the current intellectual scene. For example, in the first issue, they called McSweeneys a "regressive avant-garde." They have also criticized The New Republic, The Weekly Standard, and literary figures such as Dale Peck. This is followed by a short Politics section. Most of each issue consists of fiction and essays. In the end, there is a review section, which consists of reviews of books, intellectual figures, and pop phenomenon.
The magazine's four editors are male, around thirty years of age, and have all earned masters or doctorates in literature from Ivy League schools. This has led some to accuse them of lacking feminist and lower-class sympathies. Their mission is somewhat informed by critical theory, which they readily admit both the attraction and limitations of. In an article on theory, the editors said, "The big mistake right now would be to fail to keep faith with what theory once meant to us." [link] Their stance embraces theory but keeps a careful distance from the academicization of theory: "Theory is dead, and long live theory. The designated mourners have tenure, anyway, so they’ll be around a bit. As for the rest of us, an opening has emerged, in the novel and in intellect. What to do with it?" In this vein, they make frequent references to the Frankfurt School, often criticize the commodification of culture, and speak positively of writers such as Don Delillo.
The journal has recently gotten good press because of the hit novel Indecision by Benjamin Kunkel, a founder, editor, and contributor to the magazine.
They also have a web presence, though they do not consider it representative of their journal and will be the first to admit its flaws [link]. In late May 2006, they initiated a new section on their website for n+1 news and announcements.
Critical Responses to n+1
The magazine has been subjected to harsh criticism. Generally, n+1's detractors are irked by the editors' youth and a perceived tendency to elitism. The New Criterion critically asked, " is your journal really necessary?" and accused them of exaggerating their own importance. The Times Literary Supplement wryly satirized Kunkel's quote, "We're angrier than Dave Eggers and his crowd," and infantilizingly compared that quote against their Third Issue's unsigned article about and titled Dating. [link] In a New York Times Magazine article about n+1, A.O. Scott said, "For n+1, the index of seriousness is thought for its own sake, which can sanction an especially highhanded form of intellectual arrogance."Contributors
Well known contributors include:External links
- [n+1] - The magazine's homepage.
- ["n Print"], May 15, 2006 The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC
- ["'New' New York Intellectuals"] - Article in the New York Sun about the magazine's launch (July 26, 2004).
- ["Among the Believers"] - A lengthy article by New York Times film critic, A.O. Scott about both The Believer (magazine) and n+1, (September 11, 2005).
- Two blog entries by the blog-author of a site called Chekov's mistress.
- *["In Praise of the Sublimely Unhip"] - About discovering n+1, (10/07/2004).
- *["This Year Negation, Next Year Happiness, with Reading in Between"] - About attending a reading by n+1 editors, (11/17/2004).
- [E-Panel: Literary Journal Editors VI - June 2005] - Keith Gessen talks about publishing n+1.
- ["The artificial gravity of n+1"] - An article hostile to n+1 published in The New Criterion (January 2006).
- ["Summary Judgment"]- Slate talks about n+1 in its Summary Judgment column (July 30, 2004).
- ["Highbrow Fight Club"] Wesley Yang, contributor and commentator, writes about n+1 for the New York Observer (February 14, 2005).
- [On Literary Magazines (AGNI, N+1, Tin House, and McSweeney’s] (June 19, 2005).
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