Matchbook

View this email in your browser From Amazing But True, Joe Brainard's portfolio in issue no. 53 (Winter 1972). The Paris Review has long been known for its remarkable interviews with authors, its unique mixture of emerging and established voices, and its alluring visual art and design. A lesser-known fact about the Review is that it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. This was not always the case. For the Review's first fifty years, the magazine was simply not profitable—a fact to which its founding editor, George Plimpton, liked to allude. Subscriptions were the main source of revenue, and Plimpton did his best to increase their number by emphasizing both the quality of the publication and the shabbiness of its budget. In a notice in issue no. 114 (Spring 1990), he described typing up an appeal on his grandfather's Underwood—knowing that the old machinery gave the copy "a rather unkempt look"—with the intention of drawing readers' sympathy and dollars (this resulted in four new subscriptions). He would leave his calling card on buses and in people's pockets. He would organize parties at which every guest was expected to subscribe (earnings were somewhat offset by the cost of fireworks). He also, from time to time, simply asked for donations. Despite growth in subscriptions over the years, the Review continues to rely not just on subscriptions but on donations and grants to cover our operating costs. Such gifts are particularly meaningful now, as the Whiting Foundation, who awarded us one of their 2023 Literary Magazine Prizes, has offered to match up to $20,000 that we raise from our community. We are so very grateful for the many donations we've received thus far, and we're hopeful that we can meet the match by June 30.  In hopes of inspiring you to have your dollars matched by the Whiting Foundation, and to honor the legacy of Plimpton, who was appointed New York City's fireworks commissioner by Mayor John Lindsay, we've unlocked pieces from the archive that involve matches—albeit not the fundraising kind.   POETRY As Planned Frank O'Hara  After the first glass of vodka you can accept just about anything of life even your own mysteriousness you think it is nice that a box of matches is purple and brown and is called La Petite and comes from Sweden   From issue no. 49 (Summer 1970) PROSE The Singing Cashier Claire Keegan "Run down to the shop and get me a box of matches." "Matches? But there's—" "Piss off now, there's a love."   From issue no. 146 (Spring 1998) PROSE This Then Is a Song, We Are Singing Sterling HolyWhiteMountain she could light a match and the whole city would be on fire before anyone knew what was even happening    From issue no. 238 (Winter 2021) Copyright © 2024 The Paris Review. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: The Paris Review 544 West 27th Street 3rd Floor New York, New York 10001 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.