Didi Menendez, Thank You

When someone you like and respect does something wonderful, you feel a sense of pride, don't ya?

Well, I do.

And a sense of vicarious satisfaction. That's the best. Because you don't have to actually do anything. You know someone who has done something (wonderful).

So, I have a proximity buzz today from Didi for producing such a wonderful magazine in Poets and Artists.

Notice: it's a magazine that manages not to be condescending to its audience in its title, like say oh, I don't know...POETS & WRITERS!.

Isn't that latter the dumbest title for a magazine?

It's like one of those "We just wanted to see if you were awake" titles.

But Didi's mag makes sense.

And yes, it's glossy, and we all like glossy.

She probably will just yawn if she reads this appreciation, since this is VOLUME 3 of the magazine, after all, so she's been doing this for a while.

But it's new to me and I wanted to thank her for doing such a great job of getting so many marginalized painters (and other visual artists) and marginalized poets into a glossy mag. Amd giving them the star treatment.

They're probably so used to the staple by now, that they cry when they see this.

Anyway, I didn't read it through yet, but of course I looked at the art, and I liked some of it quite a bit.

It's a magazine that seems in touch with the way America really is, rather than the way Americans want to pretend it is. The magazine seems to focus on the cultural disparity between our professed identities and our professed generosity and our professed open-mindedness and the actual state of affairs. It's political, it's gender-neutral (all persuasions here!), it's generous and alive and optimistic and desparing and sexy and traumatized by sex and in love with fire and burnt, and looking in the mirror and shattering it sometimes in frustration.

Oh, and there are loads of hot bodies.

Rafts and rafts of them. In every imaginable position.

There are a lot of palatable nudes. But there are also a lot of really raw, powerful self-portraits that are naked in a completely different way.

It's interesting to me how many contemporary artists included in here are turning back to Renaissance models of art. Admittedly, there are often contemporary inflections--few are literal in their interpretations.

And poets! Great to see some underrecognized poets in here. And the poetry editor is making good selections of work.

Anyway, that's just after a first, quick once-over.

I'm proud of you, Didi.

This is good stuff.

I hope it's getting the readership it deserves.

I see this mag as appealing to all ages too, which is a rarity.

You can find out how to order this (and trust me, you won't regret it) magazine, I'm wagering, by going here: Simply the Best..And Hot at the Same Time.