My Greatest Failure as Editor of the MRB
And my biggest success
Hi all. It’s Cyber Monday, that most digital of holidays. I’d be remiss if I didn’t provide a very special cyber offer. Subscribe by Friday, Dec 6, and get 35% off a subscription the MRB forever. As a completely independent magazine, we depend completely on readers like you.
This post is a collaboration with
, who writes Collected Agenda—where she tells you what she’s done and what you should do in NYC over the coming week. Except this time she’s giving you her picks for the whole month of December, in addition to her recap of the past week. Scroll down to the bottom of this post to find it. I think this would be a fun monthly thing to have at the MRB. If you agree, let me know.But first, I want to use this post to reflect a bit about media and publishing. I’ve been thinking about the MRB’s trajectory a lot, we were featured in this New York Time Style piece by Alex Vadukul about the Substack soireé at Eli Zabar—but also because it seems we’re hitting an inflection point re: independent media. Without further ado…
It’s really true that all legacy media is losing ground. This is as true of both television and print. The audience for much of it will die out within the next twenty years.
And yet these conglomerate media companies still hold sway. People in publishing still care about prestige, and decisions about what to publish and whom to publish still have a large political element.
What’s new in the age of digital media? You can circumvent this sort of politicking by becoming popular on social media. You can make sales of independently published books, or turn your popularity into income by selling a newsletter or other products. You don’t need a gatekeeper (well, other than banks).
That in itself is a huge win for people with heterodox ideas. But it’s not the same thing as power. And it’s not the same thing as acceptance of those ideas.
In the second issue of the Mars Review Tao Lin wrote a brilliant and highly unorthodox essay on the subject of why we’re currently in the midst of an autism epidemic. We have an incoming secretary of health and human services who may well agree with Tao’s conclusions.
But that doesn’t mean that such opinions will now become accepted in the major magazines, or will find a home at the biggest imprints of the Big Five publishing houses.
The masses don’t decide what ideas rise to the top of the discourse. Not even the President decides that. There’s a far more complicated network (universities, non-profits, and media, all thinking “independently” together based on shared incentives and trickle-down effects) that does the deciding. Such networks constitute the loci of power today.
.What does this have to do with book reviews, and my own successes and failures at the helm of the MRB? In the recent past, people didn’t read book reviews strictly for the content of the review. They read book reviews in large part because of the reviews were published in prestigious outlets, which helped them know what to think. In the old days, a great review from a big reviewer could make a book, and a negative one could break it. This was not because the actual content of the review was so utterly persuasive. It was because of a prestigious publication’s stamp of approval. If Michiko Kakatuni wrote her famous takedowns today on Substack, they would hardly make a dent. The difference is prestige and power—not content.
I was a little naïve when I founded the MRB. I thought that if I created a publication where the standards were as high as those of the older magazines I had grown up on, then it would automatically exist on a level playing field with those other outlets. But that’s not how the world works.
I sort of knew this at the time, but I tricked myself into not knowing it. I’m glad I did. Every major undertaking begins with at least a dollop of stupidity.
Most new media that succeed today aim for popularity, not power. There’s nothing wrong with that. A lot of the extremely popular Twitter accounts are extremely good. Some of the extremely popular Substacks are, too. But the game they’re playing usually doesn’t get them closer to prestige or to power.
So that’s the quagmire the media ecosystem is in now: popularity vs. power. Prestige is caused by power. Quality is only correlated. And yet the correlation remains. If I open certain prestigious magazines, I can expect a certain literary education among the writers, and I can expect a certain quality of prose. For now, this remains true, even if the ideas espoused are routinely and egregiously wrong.
The other thing that’s correlated with power is groupthink. If I open up one of these same magazines, I can make an extremely accurate guess of what a given writer’s take on a given subject will be. I can guess just how sizable a straw man he’ll give to the opposing side before tearing it down. I’ve gotten good at this trick. If you don’t believe me, write me and I’ll do it for you—for a price. Cash App in bio, as the kids say. (Actually, you can just donate to the MRB here).
So herein shall be found the great glory of the Mars Review. It was founded with the idea: What if we made a review where the quality was high, and the groupthink was low? We were the only ones bold enough to have tried it.
Herein shall be found the great shame of the Mars Review. It was founded with the idea: What if we made a review where the quality was high, and the groupthink was low? We were the only ones stupid enough to have tried it.
After all, high quality does not maximize for popularity, because good thinking and good writing do not play to the lowest common denominator. And low groupthink does not maximize for power, because groupthink is what power is built on.
And so the greatest failure of the Mars Review has also been it’s greatest success: the fact that it exists at all.
From
:Collected Agenda # 20 (on Mars)
Monday, November 18
I run outside this morning, it's cold enough now. I slept for many hours last night, and now, I need the air to feel shocking. I do the dishes. They've been piling up for a while now. My sweater snags on a knife we stole from Balthazar and the sleeve rips. I don't usually steal from restaurants. Stealing is petty and ugly. It was just this one time. The knife that snags is jagged but my sweater rips cleanly. It's an old Ralph Lauren pullover, mustard yellow, far too big on me. I bought it in the Savers bins when I was sixteen. I've had it since and I think I will have it forever. The tear provides a certain sense of relief. It's already ruined. Now, if I wanted, I could plunge my arms sleeves deep into the hot water. I don't want to, but I’m no longer worried about if things splash.
David tells me that if you read my writing you might think I'm crazy. He means it in a nice way. David likes my writing. I'm not writing my diary. Today I'm writing fiction. This isn't about me. This is A Calendar of Downtown In Real Life Events.
Things that can be cheap are: Writing about writing. Baring one's soul. Confession for the sake of repenting outside of a religious context. A belief that self awareness will abscond you.
In real life: I go for a run outside. I do the dishes. I go to class. I call my friends. One of my friends went to church last week and she met an angel. The angel told her that if you pray that your suffering was for the sake of a loved one, then you will be truly grateful to have suffered. I think I understand this, but I have rarely been to church. I don't want to be naive. I don't want to grasp for higher meaning in texts I've never read.
My other friend tells me that Pluto enters Aquarius tomorrow. Pluto has been in Capricorn since 2008, she says. This means that Pluto has been in Capricorn since the edges of my conscious memory. My friend says that Pluto in Capricorn is a difficult time. I look up what it will be like now that Pluto is in Aquarius.
The New York Post says that "the power is shifting from the oppressors to the outskirts."
Emmalea Russo says that "Tomorrow, Pluto enters that midwinter kingdom -- abstract, futuristic, moving through what Weil calls "icy pandemonium" to reach truth and warmth."
Stephen Forrest says that "In the emerging Aquarian paradigm, humanity is simply no longer the center of everything."
Tuesday, November 19
On Pluto's first night in Aquarius, I stayed up all night.
Ellie said the reason they don’t allow photos at the Frog Club is probably because their frog wallpaper is ugly. I thought the frog wallpaper was ok. They had a New York Magazine photographer there today. They had mezcal cosmopolitans and martinis full of soy sauce. I spilled soy sauce martini on my magazine, and then I took it home. On Pluto’s first night in Aquarius, this is what I’m reading. I particularly like Andie Blaine’s review of Myth Lab, and Conor Truax’s review of Looking For A Kiss.
Wednesday, November 20
There is The Russian Cosmism Circle talk at TJ Byrne's and The Brain Rot Symposium in Chelsea tonight, but I am behind again. By eight pm, I have abandoned all hope of escape. Claustrophobia when I'm trapped in my apartment. Claustrophobia when I'm trapped in a cafe. I try to envision myself as someone who is trapped in the real world, longing instead for interiority, but the truth lies in the opposite. Far too tempted by physical forays.
David comes home with a baguette and raw shallots and sharp goat cheese. What are you going to do with the shallots, I ask. We don't have a stove… Shallots are best raw, he says. He cuts me a slice of cheese. He cuts the shallots into very thin slivers like Marco Pierre White and he puts it on top. I only like cheese rinds, I say. He cuts me a piece of rind. It's covered in wax, which I peel off with my hands. This is my favorite part. Peeling wax with my hands and then eating the rinds with the residue.
Later, David is opening a box from New Balance. I bought boots but they sent me a box from New Balance, he says. He opens the box. Inside, lies a pair of big black chunky sneakers.
"Those aren't boots," I say
"You got those so you can match with Your Best Friend Matthew, didn't you,” I say.
"Do you like my boots, " asks David.
"No," I say.
Later, I am All Caught Up on the tasks that were previously inhibiting my plans. I might go to TJ Byrne’s, I tell David.
"It will only be you and psueds left at this hour," David says.
"What does psued mean?," I ask
"4-chan lit board for Pseudo Intellectual," says David.
"Oh," I say.
Thursday, November 21
At Stone Street, they are playing Manhattan. Christmas starts in October now. Soon, it will come to a crescendo.
We go to a reading at Kos Kaffe tonight. It’s pouring now. A cold rain that should be snow. It’s not the type of thing that bothers me, but it’s becoming tough to venture out.
At Kos Kaffe, they are serving nuts and mulled wine. I’m dripping from the rain, and so I stand in the back. I don’t own an umbrella and my raincoat doesn’t have a hood. I could get these things if I wanted. My least favorite thing is being bogged down.
At the reading, someone is reciting a poem about Animal Crossing. The next reader reads about slugs. A third talks about having sex two to three times a day.
Ruby is somewhere towards the front. I can’t see her, but I know she’s there. She’s in the seats with the other readers. I’m in the back, dripping puddles on the ground.
Another writer is reading about tracking her period. “That shit is fascist,” her acquaintance told her.
“Why do we have readings?” Ruby texts me.
During intermission, Ruby comes to the back of the room.
"Do you want to see what I'm learning in Witch School?” Ruby asks.
She puts a hand on the top of my head. She makes other motions. I don’t remember what they are, but I get the sense that the idea is to encourage my limbs to stretch and bend like an elastic. Maybe the idea is to get your mind to stretch and bend like an elastic, too. Plasticity in the consciousness. Perhaps this is what they teach you in witch school. Ruby asks me if I feel calm. David asks me what she just did to me.
“It was something that she learned in witch school,” I say.
“Oh, I don’t like that,” David says.
“I think she’s in Good Witch school,” I say.
The conversation has moved on.
Later, the readings continue. Ruby doesn’t read about witch school. Instead, she reads about how finding your soulmate can be something that is sometimes sad, too. It’s the best reading by far.
THE MONTH AHEAD
Sunday, December 1
From 4:45pm — Practical Magic is screening at Metrograph, accompanied by a Q&A with director Griffin Dunne.
From 7pm — Come Confess in the Red Room. If you’ve ever wanted to read here, now is your chance - this week is open mic edition. Line up is first come first serve, so arrive early.
Monday, December 2
From 7:30pm at Niagara — Miss Manhattan and Black Lipstick Mag present an evening of nonfiction, featuring readings by Sophia June, Rachel Gilman, Joseph Lezza, Elizabeth Burch, and Mila Jaroniec.
Tuesday, December 3
From 7pm at Sovereign House — One Man Army hosts Vol 6 of Anthology Film Festival Paradise Shredition
From 10pm - late — Baguette Tuesday is back at Paul’s Casablanca - a new party series launched by Vaquera and Chloe Sevigny.
Wednesday, December 4
From 7:30pm at El Nico @ The Penny — Polyester Zine and Mixed Feelings hosts The Magical Girl Mixer. Come for a free copy of the new edition of Polyester, free cocktails, a costume contest, and more.
Thursday, December 5
From 7pm at Old Flings — Catie Fronczak holds Probably The Last Ever Words At Flings, featuring readings by Peter Vack, Leg5, Page Garcia, and others.
From 7pm at Berry Park — Limousine hosts the Naughty or Nice reading, featuring Eliza Mclamb, Delia Cai, and others. This is a reading for modern day neurotics - submit your moral conundrums in advance, and the readers will filter your behavior into two essential categories: naughty or nice.
From 8pm - 9:30 at Molasses Books — Clocked Out Magazine has rescheduled the issue launch; Election Edition. Katherine Williams, Matthew Donovan, Liam Powers, Zoe Laris-Djokovic, and Fiona Miller will be reading selections from the mag. Free drinks will be served.
Friday, December 6
From 6pm - 8pm — Parent Company celebrates the opening of Emily Janovick: Wet Blanket.
From 11pm - late at Grotta Azzurra — Cooper B Handy hosts release show party with Test Subjects, Chanel Beads (dj), DJ Manny, Goner, and more.
Saturday, December 7
From 7:30pm at Knitting Factory — Liturgy performs a solo set supporting Martin Rev.
From 7:30pm at David Geffen Hall — Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 is performed alongside William Kentridge’s Oh To Believe in Another World. Tickets here.
Save The Date — there's a full bill for this DDM / Uncensored New York event
Sunday, December 8
From 6:30pm - 8:30pm — DeSciNYC holds their monthly meetup. This month, it’s all about prediction markets.
From 7pm — Confessions in the Red Room
Monday, December 9
From 7:30pm — The Thing Is returns to Jean’s. This month's show (It’s A Wonderful Life) will star Delaney Rowe, Julia Shiplett, Jake Cornell, and Rebounder.
Tuesday, December 10
From 6:30pm — McNally Jackson Seaport presents an evening of poetry with Daisuke Shen, Liza St. James, Bud Smith & Mohammed Zenia Siddiq Yusef Ibrahim.
From 7pm at TJ Byrnes — Patio Reading Series returns with readings from Gideon Jacobs, Zans Brady Krohn, and others.
Wednesday, December 11
From 7pm at Tara Downs Gallery — Dream Baby Press presents Perverted Book Club - a night of erotic reading by some of your favorite writers and artists. The event is hosted by Matt Starr. Readers include Jemima Kirke, Lili Anolik, Mackenzie Thomas, Joan of Arca, and more.
Thursday, December 12
The New Criterion hosts their annual holiday party - cocktails, conversation, and good cheer
Save The Date for Tense.
Friday, December 13
From 7pm - 9pm at Heart — Are.na hosts the launch party for Are.na Annual 2025: “document”. There will be copies of the book, drinks, and readings.
From 8pm - late — Mcnally Jackson and Cafe Gitane celebrate the launch of Cafe Gitane: 30 Years - “a celebration of New York’s iconic NoLita neighborhood by two of its most beloved institutions”.
From 8m at Catholic Worker Maryhouse — Cracks in Pomo hosts a discussion on Dorothy Day and The Duty of Seeking Delight in Postmodern Culture. RSVP here.
Saturday, December 14
From 10pm at 177 Mulberry — Drink More Water celebrates their End of Year Festival.
Sunday, December 15
Monday, December 16
Emily Pope opens at Sara's
Tuesday, December 17
From 7pm - 10pm — Your (second to) last chance to see Dimes Square! Tickets in Brooklyn are already sold out. The Manhattan shows will go quickly, too.
Wednesday, December 18
From 7pm - 10pm — Your very last chance to see Dimes Square.
Dimes Square
December 31
 | A guest post by |
"Quality high, groupthink low" is a really solid and I hope for the MRB valuable formula. There are some great old examples of this, journals like Eugene Jolas' "transition" or Bataille's "Documents"... Come to think of it, all great magazines do this to some extent, when they are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Good luck.
great stuff. excited for the future of the world. might be good.