Viva la Baffler!

Superb news. A great little magazine, previously defunct, lives again--The Baffler is back! And even better news for our little corner of the world: American intellectual historian John Summers, author of the excellent collection of essays, Every Fury on Earth, takes over from Thomas Frank as editor. For details, check out this BookForum story. A snapshot:

In January 2010 The Baffler, the influential Chicago-based culture and politics journal cofounded by Thomas Frank in 1988, put out an impressive new issue, its first in three years. George Packer heralded the journal’s return in the New Yorker, writing that it was “a perfect moment for The Baffler’s kind of cultural criticism to be revived.” But the revival was lamentably brief. Despite the issue’s high quality and success—three Pushcart nominations, two book contracts born from pieces in the magazine—no follow-up emerged. By the fall of 2010, Frank was looking for a successor.

Fans of the Baffler style in American politics, rejoice. Frank has selected the bold critic, editor, and fellow history Ph.D. John Summers to head a revamped Baffler. Frank explains the decision: "We chose John Summers because he has a Baffleresque attitude, by which I mean he writes with an impressive ferocity about the cultural issues that have always interested us." Summers has purchased the journal, moved it to Cambridge, and will employ Frank to continue as an editor and contributor.