Dispatches

Though there were several notices upon the announcement of Mort Rosenblum and Gary Knight's new quarterly Dispatches magazine, I have yet to see an actual review (perhaps because the subscription isn't exactly cheap). I received the first issue (In America) a couple of weeks ago and have been slowly and happily working my way through the inaugural tome since. All in all its an incredible effort and forecasts nothing but deeply provocative, free-form journalism and photography ahead in its first year. If you've been waiting around for that spark of inspiration to drop $68 on your own subscription, here it is... subscribe now and support this important new worldly magazine.

Rosenblum and Knight go out of their way to intone their deadly serious intentions for Dispatches in the opening mission statement, and that is supported by the publication's simple, small book form, which is presented soft-covered in raw/supermarket paper and well-designed by the folks at de.MO (an obvious fact from about 25 feet away, to anyone who has seen their work, esp. the VII book projects). I had an interesting initial reaction to the delivery and packaging of the magazine (none, other than a thin clear plastic bag), which did little to prevent some slight damage to the cover. It's only interesting because this new magazine is going to feel like a rare book to some and like myself you are first a little peeved that your expensive publication just arrived already a little abused. But I guess the point is that its not supposed to be rare and destined for a seldom-dusted photo shelf, but instead useful, read, and even dog-earred. And in that paradox I hope Dispatches is the first of many such high-end magazines that break out of the dying conventional molds of news magazines no longer discussing much of anything in-depth. The bigger battle will be whether or not they will find a broader audience than is the fate of most niche photo books, and engage readers who are already thought to be disinterested in international coverage.

The first issue is collected around the strange "world of its own": America. What is the U.S. in the 21st century? Why is it so ignorant and arrogant, or perceived that way? What happened to hitchhiking? What is at the core of our foreign policy in the Middle East? How does racial and ethnic issues affect today's America? Etc. etc. etc. Each essay spurred a few hundred good points of debate in my head, though much of the first issue seemed to be written for a non-American audience. Despite that I found the writing to be engaged, informed, and the tone open to the complexities of the world, and therefore mostly not preachy (with the exception of the "survey," which I found to be ridiculous).

And saving the big daddy for last, the first issue ends with a 40-image photo essay from Antonin Kratochvil from his "In God's Country" body of work that is worth the price of admission all by itself. I'm a little more critical of Kratochvil and his one-leg-shorter-than-the-other style than some of my photo peers it seems, but this project is beautifully done and printed, even though it of course represents a very small cross-section of our enormous and diverse country (his route took him mostly through the interior of the U.S. - there is a great map in the back fold of the issue!). Just like the essays that precede it, it asks as many questions as it answers.

Issue 1 closes with a list of additional reading (nice touch), and at exactly 200 pages, and left me enthusiastic about what is possible in the changing world of publishing. I can't wait to see how that is continued in the next take focused on Iraq. I couldn't find if Dispatches could currently be found in bookstores, but make an effort to get your hands on this magazine now.

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Comments (2)

John - just wanted to 2nd your recommendation of this important new magazine. I read through my copy on a recent roundtrip from DC to New York and left the train filled with new ideas about the US and its standing in the world. My copy was also a bit beat up upon arrival. While I subscribed to the magazine mostly for the photography, I think I enjoyed the essays much more, espeically Theroux's. I love Antonin's work, but the old problem of photos disappearing into the gutter of the magazine made it hard to appreciate all the work, and I was left wishing I could pore over these dark, complex photos in a larger book, or hanging on a wall.

I think you are right, Stephen -- I almost mused on wishing to see Antonin's images much larger in the post, but to be fair they are as large as they could be in such a small format (double-truck). But they were definitely gutter-riffic! The essays were a huge plus for me as well, especially Kifner's, in my case.

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