reasonoid

Discussing the literary merit of Ezra Pound, in person, online, or in a term paper is boring. Just take my word for it. I'd rather speak to a living writer than argue about a dead one. Which is just what I did tonight. I went to the reason DC staff happy hour at The Big Hunt on Connecticut Avenue. I walked home with a free copy of the magazine and a signed copy of McCain: The Myth of a Maverick by Matt Welch.

I've been reading Welch's work for years. There are a few things I miss about Canada, and newspapers are definitely one of them. Well designed newspapers like the Globe and Mail or the National Post that are willing to take a chance on new talent just don't exist south of the border. Early in his career, Welch wrote some amazing pieces for the National Post before the Asper's gutted it.

Even though reason is an American magazine, they have a wonderfully Canadian ethic when it comes to publishing. The design is simply beautiful, and I think bringing aboard Peter Bagge as a contributor is a sign of how seriously they take the visual presentation of the magazine. They also aren't afraid to take chances with relatively new talent. Katherine Mangu-Ward has worked her way up the ladder at reason faster than Mark Hemingway has over at the National Review.

One final reason to like reason: the website. The "hit and run" blog is one of the best magazine blogs out there, and The reason tv feature is guerilla marketing at it's finest. Vanity Fair can get Madonna to pose for their "green issue" cover, but it just can't trump Nick Gillespie's interview with John Stagliano or Christopher "Jesus" Ferguson dropping by the reason office for a game of poker. The honor roll students might want to suck up to Graydon Carter, but the cool kids who sit at the back of the class all want to hang out with Gillespie and Welch.

The staff is very friendly, and being able to listen to Gillespie and Welch discuss Ron Paul with one of his campaign workers was the high point of the evening. They both possess that wonderful skeptical intelligence that the better kind of editors, professors, and survivors of the sixties possess. Readers of the "hit and run" blog have probably heard about these gatherings, and having been once, I'd say it's definitely worth checking out.

Update: One more reason to attend the next Happy Hour.