Evening star., 1938-04-10
By NC. K.

~ miad over the monotony Of
a the regular newsstand fare
was in danger Of falling into . severe
appeared in the ranks Of the periodi-
calls. This is the new fortnightly Ken,
issued by the Esquire Coronet outfit
OF Chicago. With due respect to the
serious past efforts Of Messrs. Gingrich
and Smart to tighten up the doughy
batch which has so long been our
magazines, the reviewer at first still
could find no more grace in her heart
than suf1iced to make her growl, 1T
was about time!" For so it was. The
deadly predictability of our periodicals
has been for many months the only
mention worthy thing about them.
To the rescue then come the in
genious Chicagoans, and their Ken
shows at least a praiseworthy desire
to break out Of the dreary old clches
which, either from timidity or dullness.
our editors seem to rate obligatory. 1t
is news and feature magazine, in
which pictures are heavily used. But
the news is not gathered wholly by
the standards of sensationalism
Though there is some Of this), nor
are the pictures disproportionate to
the printed matter. Those who still
are able to read will find some matter
IN Ken to entertain them. and those
who feel that art" photography is
getting to be a bore and a nuisance
will be pleased to learn that in Ken
the pictures are relegated TO a separate
section, where they can easily be
ignored
In other words. Ken is q sort of
combination Of Life and Time, with
studied improvements in place OF the
inevitable weaknesses which have de-
veloped in both the older periodicals.
1t has the picture pabulum Of the
former, but, as said, the sleek pages
do not smite the eye with inescapable
distraction: the device of segregating
the photography and leaving the
reader to make his own decision as to
whether he will subject himself to
contemplation Of share-croppers' sad
faces, pugs sweating in the ring and
the enlarged countenances of dicta-
tors, seems indeed an excellent one.
Similarly Ken offers articles on such
news as a fortnightly may regard as
fresh, and here, in an over-snappy
style. the influence of Time is obvious.
Nevertheless, Ken is not completely a
news sheet, but with its biweekly range
Is able to go further afield and offer
feature articles as we'll as reports.
1t would seem, therefore. that the
newcomer is not wholly original or
out of the accustomed types. but that
1t has resulted from a careful study
Of the already established magazines
made with an eye on catching up their
shortcomings That it has not done
too badly seems only fair to say on
the evidence of the first issue.
The reviewer felt, to be sure. that
some Of the feature material was weak
and sounded as if it might have been
lying around Mr. Gingrich's desk for
some time. waiting publication in
Coronet; she also regretted the occa-
sional lapses Of the magazine into
sensationalism. Still. Ken has lively
quality and is worth its cost If it
were weekly. one would feel inclined
to warn the editors Of Golfers to look
to their ancient laurels. But on its
present basis of publication. 1t will
probably make its own public. Fort
nlghtlles are not numerous on the
stands, as the astute editors of this
one Undoubtedly have foreseen.
AS to policy. Ken, is commercially
opposed to dictators-abroad at least;
is plausibly interested in social well
fare and public health. and likewise
in favor of peace So are We all. As
said above, it is not particularly origi-
/ nal.
A ND here. as a Constant Reader,
the reviewer really feels that she
should offer bouquet to Messrs
| Smart and Gingrich. Whether or not
one approves Of all Of their list, one
must admit that they have done more
than any publisher to date to brighten
the lamentably routine character of
American periodicals in recent years.
Esquire. their f1rst-born, does seem,
at the present writing. to have reached
the age Of predictability at last and,
being avoWedly humorous it suffers
peculiarly from its senescence. for no
smell is so rank as that of dead old
joke. Coronet. in its printed matter.
becomes steadily more vapid. so that
it must depend increasingly on its
illustrations for interest. But what
good moments both of these mags pro-
vided in the freshness of their youth!
They we're definite and courageous
breaks with publishing tradition. 1t
is good news to learn that their edi-
tors have not stopped with those two
successes. but continue to find them
selves moved to experiment and glance
around.
THIS brings the reviewer to consid-
Grafton of Verve, the new artistic
and literary quarterly" which. printed
in Paris. has Esquire-Coronet for its
American distributors. The second is
sue is now on the stands and can be
bought by any one-absolutely any
one-who has $3.50 to pass over the
counter. The reviewers advice to the
sophisticated is to keep their money.
But then the sophisticated do not
need advice. So she can only say
that those who like to have a little
culture lying around on the table,
handy and visible, had better get
Verve. 1t is slick, sweet, vapid and
arty to the point Of putting out your
eye. The reviewer, after looking at
the present issue for an hour or more.
went out to the corner and conversed
with the neighborhood cop. He used
to be Marine. He has good man
ners and a fine vocabulary. So, of
course, has Verve. The difference is
that the courteous cop does not talk
for sale. Verve's authors do. You
breathe expensiveness in with their
every word. And thereby they mex
orably fall afoul Of that old provision
Of an ironic god that expensiveness
for sale as such is the cheapest thing
beneath a mocking heaven. Well,