When Inpress member The London Magazine lost its (pretty substantial) annual grant from the Arts Council, and its editor, few people expected it to survive. But over the summer its young acting editor and a team of other young people started visiting Festivals.
It used to be policemen that got younger, now it's magazine editors. They came to our Lowdham Festival to read extracts from the magazine's glorious past. Maybe it was that invitation that prompted them to plan their Xmas issue as a celebration of that past. Whatever, here's (an edited) note from the TLM team:
The London Magazine Seeks Contributions for Christmas Issue
Reply to: admin@thelondonmagazine.net
Deadline: November 1st (outlines); December 1st (finished pieces)
We are planning to have a Christmas issue in which we celebrate the history of The London Magazine. I would like to invite writers to submit ideas for articles relating to the great literary figures published in TLM, as well as ideas relating to the development of early literary publications and their impact on the careers of people like Hazlitt and Boswell. There is a wealth of material in an online archive available from Michigan University of our back issues from the very first issue in 1732 (http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=londonmag), through to the 1800's.
We also have an extensive archive of material from its relaunch in the 1950's under John Lehmann and Alan Ross, which I can have scanned and sent to those who would like to work from the material.
I have a few suggestions for articles:
-De Quincy’s 'Opium Eaters', (first published in The London Magazine) and its relevance to today's drug culture.
-Many of the great romantic poets were published under John Scott's editorship in the 19th century. I would be interested in articles on the development of the Romantic Movement focussing on the work of poets such as Wordsworth and Keats that were published in early issues of The London Magazine. For online copies of the relevant issues go to:http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=londonmag
-There is a great deal of Ted Hughes' and Sylvia Plath's early work published in the 50's and 60's. It is poignant to read the biographies in the back: "Sylvia Plath... is the wife of Ted Hughes". We could make available a list of the poems published by each of these poets, and I would welcome articles or memoir pieces discussing their early work and careers.
-Art: From 1700 to the present: What were the major trends? How did magazine presentation and artwork develop? Or art from the 1950's to now (as discussed in TLM--I can make a list available of the artists discussed plus scanned articles).
- The development of early literary and arts magazines, (and the rivalry between them as exhibited by The Gentleman’s Magazine towards The London Magazine) and their impact on the work of great literary figures (particularly Hazlitt, Boswell, De Quincey)
-The development of the 'Columnist' (Boswell wrote a series of columns as 'the Hypochondriak', it would be interesting to do something on Boswell's columns specifically or development of the ‘column’ in general).
-A look at the life and work of John Lehmann and/or Alan Ross, and or a look at the work of all the editors from John Scott (who was killed in a duel) to Sebastian Barker, my predecessor.
Please send all ideas to admin@thelondonmagazine.net. The deadline for completed copy is December 1, but I would like to have all outlines by November 1, 2008.
The London Magazine was founded in 1732, and published for 53 years as a counterbalance to The Gentleman’s Magazine. It was re-launched in 1820 under John Scott’s editorship. He championed the work of Wordsworth, Lamb, De Quincey, Clare, Hood, Carlyle, and the ‘Cockney School’ of John Keats, Leigh Hunt, and William Hazlitt. Welcoming The London Magazine under John Lehmann’s editorship, T.S. Eliot saw it not as ‘a vehicle of expression for critics occupying university posts’, but as ‘the magazine which will boldly assume the existence of a public interested in serious literature’. No other review of literature and the arts claims such a history. From the 1700's until the present day, both Nobel Prize winners and unpublished artists, writers and poets have graced the pages of The London Magazine. We will continue to showcase the best and brightest writers, artists and commentators, and we have had many of today’s best writers in recent issues, including Nicholas Royle, Penelope Shuttle, Anne Stewart, Tim Turnbull, Trevor Hoyle, Annie Freud, Roddy Lumsden, Graham Buchan, Leah Fritz, John Hartley Williams, Todd Swift, Martyn Crucefix, Tim Cumming, Andy Brown and Neil Curry. Consistently on the pulse of what is happening in the literary scene,and a meeting place of the day’s greatest minds, The London Magazine abides. Best regards, Sara-Mae Tuson
Acting Editor, The London Magazine, Tel: 02084005882 www.thelondonmagazine.net