I read my first issue of Lapham’s Quarterly last week, and it was absolutely wonderful.

Each issue features a wide variety of voices talking about a central theme - such as love, war, crime, or learning. The voices are drawn from the broad swath of history, stretching from early Greece to late-modern America. They’re accompanied by pictures and art on that theme (like the one shown above), which serve as potent perspectives in themselves. There are also some longer, commissioned essays written for the occasion of the issue at the back. The whole effect is multi-faceted and kaleidoscopic, rendering a greater whole than merely the sum of its parts.

It’s rather expensive at $60 a year - making each issue $15 for about 225 pages of ad-free awesome - but the effect is unparalleled amongst anything else I’ve read. The revelation/minute ratio is insanely high, as picking from all of history allows you to drill down to the truly excellent stuff. It’s only in its second year of publication, but is a mature and fully-formed work of art. I cannot recommend it enough.

I’m so hooked that I went ahead and dropped the money on the boxed set of the first year’s four issues; that’s 900 pages of amazing headed my way in the next week or two! I plan on temporarily becoming a hermit once it shows up.

(painting is “Prison Courtyard” by Vincent Van Gogh)