A New Year Homage to Print

A New Year Homage to Print

As the final whispers of 2024 fade away and the promise of a fresh New Year beckons, it's time to raise a glass—not just to new beginnings, but to the indomitable spirit of the magazine industry. You guys are of a noble and thoughtful breed. It has been my pleasure to work with you through an amazing set of decades of monumental change.

In a world saturated with fleeting digital waves, you, the stewards of the printed page, stand tall as pillars of enduring stories, beautifully designed and insightfully crafted. We publishers trust curation over algorithms, and from my point of view that is one of our greatest strengths. Curation with empathy will not be achieved anytime soon with our new coworker and tool A.I.

Yes, the winds of change continue to swirl around us. As Treebeard said in the book and Galadriel said in the movie: “The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.” Ink-stained fingers have given way to the tap-tap-tap of keyboards, and news cycles spin faster than a runaway printing press. But amidst the digital deluge, the thirst for something tangible, something that lingers beyond the glow of a screen, has only grown stronger. As I predicted in my debate with Prof. Samir Husni in 2007, Print has finally moved from a commodity to a luxury product.

And that's where you come in—the architects of tactile experiences. You weave words into tapestries that ignite imaginations, curate images that speak a thousand unspoken truths, and bind them all together in physical vessels that whisper, "Hold me, savor me, let me linger in your hands."

In an age of information overload, you offer curation, not chaos. You delve deep, unearthing stories that deserve to be savored, not scrolled past. You champion voices that need to be heard, not muted by the algorithm's whims. You stand as a defiant testament to the power of slow journalism, of narratives that unfold at the pace of turning pages, not the frantic swipe of a thumb.

And your canvas is boundless. From the glossy heft of fashion bibles to the newsprint grit of investigative journals, from the whimsical charm of children's magazines to the intellectual heft of literary quarterlies, each publication is a unique universe unto itself, a portal to worlds waiting to be explored.

So, as the new year dawns, let us celebrate the magic you weave. Let us raise a toast to the ink that stains your fingers, the paper that whispers under your touch, and the stories that take flight from the pages you create. May your pens dance with inspiration, your layouts sing with visual poetry, and your words ignite the minds and hearts of your readers.

For in a world forever chasing the next headline, the next tweet, the next fleeting trend, you offer a sanctuary of depth, a refuge of beauty, and a testament to the enduring power of the printed word. And that, dear friends, is something to raise a glass—and a magazine—to. For me, I’m sipping and saluting you with some Buffalo Trace Bourbon as I write this. As Mark Twain once said, “Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough.”

As my long-time readers know, Carol and I have hosted a New Year’s Eve seven-course sit-down tasting menu for 23 years now. Each course is thoughtfully paired with wines. This year, the menu is a culinary trip through Portuguese cuisine, inspired by our delightful visit to Portugal in October.

Happy New Year! May your pages turn with brilliance, and your stories leave an indelible mark on the world.

Over the many years of delivering this newsletter, I have traditionally sent out what I thought to be an appropriate poem to share the holiday spirit.

The following salutation was written to a friend of Fra Giovanni in 1513. It imparts to me a unique emotion I can't quite place, but I accept it as totally genuine and filled with extraordinary truths. It has become for me in the past few years a traditional message to share with my friends. Each time I read it, I gather new insight and a sense of peace.

I just today noticed that this ancient poem to a friend contains a lot of Ram Dass’s "Be Here Now." I hope it evokes a similar reaction in you.

Best wishes and happy holidays to all. Bob and Carol Sacks

I SALUTE YOU

There is nothing I can give which you have not; but there is much that, while I can not give, you can take.

No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today. Take happiness.

No peace lies in the future, which is not somewhere hidden in this present instant. Take Peace

The sometime gloom of the world is but a shadow; Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. Take joy

And so, at this holiday time, I greet you, With the prayer that for you, now and forever, the days break with peace, and all shadows flee from your path.

Fra Giovanni A salutation written to a friend in 1513

May this timeless message bring you peace, joy, and happiness during this holiday season and beyond.