Big news from the publishing world. As print journals search for ways to adapt to evolving attitudes and new technologies, the New York Times Magazine has taken a bold step. The Times Magazine has been edited since 2014 by Jake Silverstein, formerly editor of the Texas Monthly, who upon joining the Times promised “the kind of long-form impactful [sic] journalism that has made the magazine one of the most influential publications throughout its history.”
His latest bold and impactful move isn’t about long-form journalism, though. He’s made the poet Rita Dove the magazine’s poetry editor. Why? Because what readers in 2018 want more than anything is more poetry.
In Silverstein’s defense, Dove is the recipient of almost every literary approbation known to man—she’s won a Pulitzer, she’s been the poet laureate of the United States and Virginia, she’s won a host of medals and honors, and she is the Commonwealth professor of English at the University of Virginia. She’s the sort of person who’ll fit nicely on the Times Magazine masthead.
We hope the magazine’s readers enjoy the poetry. We have just one question: Is print journalism dying—or is it committing suicide?
