This week I review American Magazine Writing which I mentioned briefly in the previous blog. The collection was sent to me by NetGalley for review.
Sidney Holt (ed.) American Magazine Writing Columbia University Press 2023.
The introduction is written by Natasha Perlman, executive director, Glamour but does not appear in this uncorrected proof. The list of contents provides an overview of the topics that are covered, as well as the magazines which offered the prizes around which this collection focusses: ‘The Battle for Baby L.’ Rozina Ali (New York Times Magazine); ‘She Never Hurt Her Kids. So Why Is a Mother Serving More Time Than the Man Who Abused Her Daughter?’ Samantha Michaels, Mother Jones; ‘Aristocrat Inc.’ Natalie So, The Believer; ‘Monuments to the Unthinkable’ Clint Smith, The Atlantic; ‘The Landlord and the Tenant’, Raquel Rutledge and Ken Armstrong, Pro-Republica and Milwaukee Journal; ‘Death Sentence’, Nicholas Florko Stat, Public Interest; ‘The Time to Pass Paid Leave Is Now’ Natasha Pearlman, Glamour; ‘A PostRoe Threat and the PostRoe Era and Is Abortion Sacred?’ Jia Tolentino, New Yorker; ‘We Need to Take Away Children’, Caitlin Dickerson, The Atlantic; ‘The Militiamen, the Governor, and the Kidnapping That Wasn’t, Chris Heath, Esquire; ‘The Year of the Nepo Baby Nate Jones, New York; ‘Acid Church, Courtney Desiree Morris, Stranger’s Guide; ‘Tinder hearted’, Allison P. Davis, New York; ‘”She’s Capital”‘, Namwali Serpell, New York Review of Books; ‘Viola Davis, Inside Out’, Jazmine Hughes, New York Times Magazine; ‘Light and Shadow’, Raffi Katchadourian, New Yorker; ‘Winter term’ Michelle de Kretser, Paris Review; and ‘Untold’, Tom Junrod and Paula Lavigne, ESPN Digital. See Books: Reviews.
Further travel around England
Brockenhurst is a short train trip from Southampton, the next town we visited in this trip around a few towns in the south. Train strikes were part of the planning, and on this occasion, we would have had to find a local bus to take us – fares for both of us would have been almost as much as the taxi fare offered by the very smart taxi driver waiting at the station so we arrived at the hotel in Southampton in style. This was not replicated on our departure as all the taxis had been booked and we had to walk to the station for our trip to Bath. This was not particularly onerous, nor was the replacement bus service we had to use for the trip to Bath.
Southampton was a comfortable place to visit, although the walk from the hotel to the city was complicated. The university in the city was a pleasant feature and friendly staff at the hotel, and later, at a cafe associated with the Maritime Museum made this an easy stay. The remains of Southampton Castle are in the main thoroughfare, and easy to see and visit.
The restaurant at the hotel was a Marco Pierre White franchise and lived up to its reputation, with its attractive surrounds, good service and interesting but familiar menu. The starters we chose were delightfully old fashioned – a prawn cocktail and a scotch egg. Both were flavorsome, and the prawn cocktail was a great leap forward as far as prawn cocktails go, while maintaining the familiar elements of luscious prawns and a cocktail sauce.
In the morning the restaurant became the busy breakfast spot with an excellent breakfast which was part of the package with Great Breaks.
We visited the small but impressive art gallery. The attention given to children’s art and their artistic interests in overseas and interstate galleries is always a reminder to me of the poor effort made in recent years in the Australian National Gallery. In the past there has been a real effort to involve children in the galley, but it has become spasmodic and recently the permanent effort is quite unimaginative.
The gallery also has an artist at work series, with one of the artists painting on the day we visited.
As well as the excellent art gallery, street art added to the pleasure of being in this city, although we spent only a short time there.
The replacement bus service from Southampton to Bath was easy to locate and had the benefit of being able to put the luggage underneath instead of maneuvering it into luggage racks as happens on the train. The downside was that at the end of the journey one of us had to clamber into the compartment to get an errant bag.
Bath
Of course, Jane Austen, her work, and works about her, were in my mind as we enjoyed a few days in this eminently easy place to visit. I have reviewed several books about Jane Austen which may be of interest. October 5, 2022 – Michael Greaney – An A-Z of Jane Austen; Alice McVeigh, November 10, 2021: Susan, A Jane Austen Prequel; Sue Wilkes, 24 February 2020: Jane Austen’s England.
Although not associated with Bath, at least not until we saw A Haunting in Venice, is Agatha Christie. The association is not good. Having some spare moments and choosing between a film and a restaurant we chose the film, not wisely.
I kept thinking that some important links would be made between the gloom, doom, water and lightning of the storm surrounding a mansion in Venice in the present with war in the past. After all, many of the characters linked their present with their past experiences in World War 2. The concentration on images, which did not resonate strongly enough with the experience of war was not enough. The link with Halloween Party, Christie’s novel was tenuous, and patently made only to give Poirot another outing. Here was the only saving grace of the film, and it adds more to Christie’s reputation than Kenneth Branagh’s direction (although it enhances his reputation as an actor). Branagh was Poirot, demonstrating that Christie’s character is more than an egg-shaped head and moustaches.
A little more light for contrast, after all there was a romance that was pivotal to the plot would have improved the film. Unfortunately, it was unremittingly dark and wet.
We had to compensate ourselves by going to the restaurant as well. Amarone was delightful. Although one of the most popular restaurants in Bath we were able to get in, with a nice table and excellent service. The food was lovely, and we felt that despite the disappointment of the film we’d had an excellent first evening in Bath.
More on Bath next week. Hopefully I will have finished a Sophie Hannah ‘Poirot’ novel for review so shall have something positive to say about another person’s interpretation of her work.
Robin's Room 