Winter 2003
New Series · Volume XXV Number 1

about the cover

Our cover design by Nanette Black features Dagny, Stockholm 1949, a photograph taken by Christer Strömholm in the Söder, an arts-oriented neighborhood of Stockholm City, Sweden. Strömholm became one of the leading photographers in Scandinavia following World War II. Dagny, the woman pictured, is his widow and mother to his son, Joakim, also a photographer. This image is the fourth in a series of photographs by Strömholm to grace the cover of The Kenyon Review.

editor's notes

On November 12, 2002, the Trustees of The Kenyon Review presented E. L. Doctorow with the Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement. Although you may already have heard this news—it generated some considerable notice—I am happy to mark the occasion here as well. For it was not merely a very pleasant evening at Restaurant Daniel in New York. Nor was its only success the addition to the KR endowment fund. More than that, it honored one of the most significant authors of our time. And it launched what we intend to be an annual event.

Why another award? you might well ask. And why now?

More than a year ago, during a larger, quite fascinating discussion about contemporary literature and literary publishing, the KR Trustees came to believe that this is an appropriate moment and that such an award will be welcome, indeed important, to a national audience. Presented by an independent, non-commercial magazine, it will honor careers dedicated to excellence, to a creative spirit surpassing mere fashion or brief commercial appeal. E. L. Doctorow, and those authors to be so acknowledged in years to come, have lifted us all by the power of their imaginations, the beauty of their art and innovation, the courage of their uncompromising visions. Our thanks, our applause—and a significant check from our Trustees—seem well merited.

Speaking of money and public thanks . . . .

The readers, and particularly the subscribers, of KR are a remarkable lot—a generous lot. I discovered this shortly after I came on board as editor nearly nine years ago. My mandate early on was pretty clear: plug a leaking budget. Well, actually, it was to create a realistic budget from scratch and then stick to it. I patched holes. I wrote grant proposals. And I turned to our subscribers with a plea for help.

They—you—responded with greater enthusiasm than I'd dared hope. And your generosity hasn't lessened since then, even during the dark days after September 11, 2001.

We've continued to pursue creative means for ensuring KR's financial stability and therefore its survival. The holes have disappeared. Our Trustees have created an endowment fund unique among literary magazines. But gifts from our subscribers, readers, and friends remain critical to our operating budget. I believe that is a healthy fact. It's one of the ways that our relationship remains two-way.

I do write thank-you notes to everyone who makes a gift to this magazine. But this is a first chance, and probably an overdue one, to make the thanks public. Our readers are remarkable.

FYI: A scholarship fund for the Young Writers at Kenyon program has been established in memory of Tom Bigelow, managing editor of The Kenyon Review, who died in June 2002. Contributions may be sent to The Kenyon Review, Attn: Bigelow Memorial, Gambier, OH 43022.

~David H. Lynn