HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Areté'' was an arts magazine, published three times a year, edited and founded in 1999 by the poet Craig Raine. The magazine aimed to give detailed coverage of theatre, fiction, and poetry, while also serving as a platform for new writing in all genres. Raine has described its editorial policy as to "publish anything we like. The result is a magazine catholic in its taste ... . The purpose of any literary magazine is the correction of taste, the creation of mischief and entertainment—and the discovery of new writers." The magazine published contributions by a wide range of authors, including
Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan (born 21 June 1948) is a British novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of the ...
, Patrick Marber,
Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...
, and
Julian Barnes Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with ''The Sense of an Ending'', having been shortlisted three times previously with ''Flaubert's Parrot'', ''England, England'', and ''Arthu ...
. It has also promoted new authors such as Adam Thirlwell, Jeremy Noel-Tod, Sam Gardiner, Hannah Sullivan, Peter Morris, James Womack and Tom Welsford. Members of Craig Raine's immediate family such as his wife Ann Pasternak Slater and children Moses and Nina Raine were also frequent contributors. One of the publication's defining features was "Our Bold", in which the editorial team took sloppy critics to task. (An index of "Our Bold" from issues 1–34 appeared in issue 35, Autumn 2011). The magazine prided itself on high editorial standards and on close and accurate reading where others appear to have read superficially. Unashamedly nostalgic for the informed critical discourse of magazines such as the '' Paris Review'', it was strongly associated with
New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...
, where its editorial offices were. The journal's trademark feather, or
quill A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen/metal-Nib (pen), nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, event ...
, which adorned its cover was created by the British artist Mark Alexander. The journal's name is the
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
word for "virtue", and the journal was prefaced by a quotation from ''Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture'' by Werner Jaeger:
The Greeks felt that areté was, above everything else, a power, an ability to do something. Strength and health are the areté of the body; cleverness and insight the areté of the mind.
In April 2013, lapsed subscribers received a letter from Craig Raine which read as follows:
We have reason to believe that you have let your ''Areté'' subscription lapse. You should know that under byelaw 2771 of January 2003 (the Impoverished Little Magazines Act), this an offence with inevitable penalties, including: loss of intellectual credibility, increased risk of cerebral atrophy, collateral damage to your funny bone, restriction of your social circle, and spot checks by the Our Bold inspectorate.
In May 2013, ''Areté'' published its 40th issue, a 504-page retrospective including pieces by, among others, William Boyd,
Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ralph Fiennes, various accolades, including a British Academy Film ...
, Prue Leith and
Anne Robinson Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is a British journalist and television presenter, best known as the host of BBC game show ''The Weakest Link'' from 2000 to 2012, and again in 2017 for a one-off celebrity special for ''Children ...
. The book was reviewed by Nicholas Lezard in the Guardian who observed that "There are close to 50 pieces in here, and they range all over the shop. They are also all very good." In the 20 September 2020 issue of the
Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
, Craig Raine stated that “We have decided to close Areté with issue 60. When we started in 1999, I thought 32 issues would be admirable. With the lockdown, the logistics of producing a magazine have become very difficult.”


References


External links


''Areté'' magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arete 1999 establishments in the United Kingdom Book review magazines Cultural magazines published in the United Kingdom Literary magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1999 Mass media in Oxford Triannual magazines published in the United Kingdom Visual arts magazines published in the United Kingdom