''Lapham's Quarterly'' is a
literary magazine established in 2007 by former ''
Harper's Magazine
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...
'' editor
Lewis H. Lapham.
Each issue examines a theme using primary source material from history. The inaugural issue "States of War" contained dozens of essays, speeches, and excerpts from historical authors ranging from
Thucydides
Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...
,
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, and
Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu (; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) may have been a Chinese General, military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the au ...
to
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
, among others. Recent issue themes included "Foreigners", "Time", and "Youth". Each issue includes an introductory essay by Lapham (or a member of the magazine's editorial board),
readings from historical contributors, and essays by contemporary writers and historians.
Lapham's Quarterly was placed on an indefinite hiatus on November 3, 2023, citing "a combination of financial challenges". The most recent issue, titled "Energy", was released digitally.
Lapham died a year later and magazine was acquired at no cost in March 2025 by
Bard College
Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...
from the American Agora Foundation.
Organization
''Lapham's Quarterly'' is published by the American Agora Foundation, a
not-for-profit
A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives.
While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...
foundation dedicated to fostering interest in history. The offices are located in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
[ As of 2014, the magazine had a staff of 17 and a circulation of 40,000.]
Online
Since 2010 the magazine has produced a podcast
A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
featuring interviews and discussion related to topics from recent issues.
References
Further reading
* .
* .
"F. Scott Fitzgerald, It Seems, Never Met Lewis Lapham"
by Gary Shapiro, ''New York Sun'', February 23, 2007.
Tony Hendra, Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...
, Dec 3, 2007.
"My Library: Lewis Lapham"
a look inside the journal's operations.
External links
* {{Official website, https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/
Quarterly
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
Visual arts magazines published in the United States
Literary magazines published in the United States
Political magazines published in the United States
Quarterly magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 2007
Magazines published in New York City
Publishing companies of the United States