Duke Magazine Editor-in-Chief Robert J. Bliwise knows a good mag when he sees one--that's why he doesn't read Recess. The following are his thoughts on the best lil' A&E magazine this side of the Mississippi.
Indispensable. That's what leaps to mind when my thoughts turn to Recess, as they do with a regularity that could be characterized (or not) as stunning. Recess, in linguistic terms, suggests something that's receding to a vanishing point. But in its editorial essence, Recess is even cooler than the coolest Henry Kissinger phrase to appear as a Chronicle daily quotation.
Without the reviewing reliability of Recess--without its pulse-of-the-culture relevance--how could I have discovered exhibits featuring such figures of the art world as Giacometti, Gentileschi and Turner? Or the lustrous stage offerings of Othello, Metamorphoses and Porgy and Bess? How could I have learned about the existential musings of Bart Simpson, or the serious-guy side of Jon Stewart? How could I have previewed Tony Bennett's breaking into the blues, or Ann Hampton Callaway's production of popular standards? That's Recess. Or is that The New York Times Arts & Leisure section?
Who would not praise Recess through the roof? I would; to do otherwise would be like biting the hand that feeds me butterfingers. Who would dare to be dismissive of the cultural standing of Recess? After all, the cultural arbiters tell us that standing up for Recess is how Faceless Joe lost his legs!
Those lines come right out of Recess. Or maybe right out of The Simpsons. Whatever.
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