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| 1932-2023 |
I was, I guess, what would be called a left liberal, although I never thought of myself as all that left...I believed in civil rights and civil liberties, I favored racial integration, I thought responsibility for the international tensions of the cold war was equally distributed between the United States and the U.S.S.R.
--Victor Navasky, journalist, publisher emeritus of The Nation
Navasky with his protege and successor Katrina vanden Heuvel
A smart man. We need more of those.
ReplyDeleteIt sometimes seems they might go the way of the dinosaurs, doesn't it, Mitchell?
DeleteHi, Kirk!
ReplyDeleteThanks for acknowledging and paying tribute to Victor Navasky, a progressive journalist, editor, publisher, academic and lecturer who spent his life on the right (left?) side of history. Navansky died this week in NYC at age 90 following a bout with pneumonia. Over the years, I have seen Katrina vanden Heuvel doing drop-in spots as a pundit on MSNBC. The world needs more like these two, valiant soldiers in the never-ending battle against the insidious creeping scourge. Thanks again for saluting Victor Navasky, longtime editor of The Nation, a learned and accomplished man who devoted his life and brilliant mind to the fight for equality and justice in America.
Have a great weekend, good buddy Kirk!
Shady, I include Katrina vanden Heuvel because of all those television appearances. I figured at this point she may be more well-known than Navasky, or even The Nation magazine itself!
DeleteI know of Victor Navasky as constantly portrayed in many Calvin Trillin articles, in which Navasky was always humorously deplored as the ultimate cheapskate and Trillin's nemesis in general.
ReplyDeleteJim, Calvin Trillin was biting the hand that fed him--though he apparently wasn't fed enough. Of course, those kinds of political magazines, be they of the Left or the Right (such as the National Review) or the Center (like The New Republic) are constantly in the red, and I don't mean red state. Speaking of red states, the only place in my neck of the woods I've ever seen The Nation, Mother Jones, The New Republic, The National Review, The American Spectator, and whatever else is out there, is at a public library, and never at a magazine stand, so those publications must just get by on donations and grants. I think relatively prominent writers such as Trillin, Eric Alterman, and Katha Pollitt contribute to The Nation more for the freedom of expression it offers and not because it's going to put them on Easy Street. Gore Vidal, when he was alive, used to sometimes write for The Nation, but we know THAT wasn't his only source of income.
DeleteIndeed, not a liberal left, just a decent thinking person who cares.
ReplyDeleteHe was that, Andrew.
DeleteI do not know of Victor Navasky. Have you ever tried out for Jeopardy?
ReplyDeleteMike, I'm so smart that I just now accidentally erased my reply to your comment. No kidding, I really did. I was trying to make a pop-up box go away, and everything ended up going! Let me try again.
DeleteEven though I've known who Victor Navasky is for some 20 years or more, were I on Jeopardy and asked (technically answered) the name of the editor and publisher of The Nation, I probably would have drawn a blank. And even if I didn't, I might forget to put it in the form of a question.
And anyway, don't be too impressed by my knowledge. I AM on the internet, where a wealth of information is just a click away, so there's not a lot of head-scratching involved (except when I'm trying to get rid of pop-up boxes.)