Sorry to See Him Go
I was disappointed to read, in the December issue, that Richard Kaufman will no longer regularly contribute to Genii. I appreciate the work that he’s done for so many years. I preferred the magazine—layout and content—when he was chief editor, and the tricks he provided for Magicana in recent months were exceptionally good.
He’s set the bar so high that it’s hard for others to do as well.
I wish the team a happy new year from France.
—Bruno Depay
Interested to See Him Arrive
I wait, with a slightly amused half-smile, to see how an English editor will play out in an American magazine—Will Houstoun. Not only will he have to contend with the Americanization of my native tongue, but also with the telling of the scene this side of the pond, to people with vastly different experiences.
Finally, I’d like to express my gratitude for your aspirations to proofread every article; it must be a thankless but warranted task and I for one enjoy the read all the more for it.
—Paul Jackson, M.M.C.
Writing Letters
A message from Jim Steinmeyer:
A year into our new Genii, we’ve been gratified by compliments and comments about the magazine—and yes, we are even complimented when someone writes to explain a shortcoming or disappointment. It’s a sign of respect from our readers, and a signal that they would like to help us get it right.
Our letters are, indeed, emails. They get to our inbox with the speed of social media and are shared by our editors, and sometimes our columnists and writers. We can see that social media has changed the nature of some of these “letters to the editor.” It’s particularly easy to offer a comment on a forum, surrounded by like-minded readers, friends, or cheerleaders. I’d imagine that it provides a level of quick gratification. Unfortunately, it does nothing for our magazine. We assiduously avoid these comments. To me, they are like a friendly chat at a bar, complaining about the world’s problems. We don’t want to eavesdrop, and we certainly don’t want to publish the things we heard when we surreptitiously leaned over, reaching for a napkin.
No, letters need a “stamp”—in a modern sense, they need to be addressed to us and intended for us. When they are, we’re always grateful for that intention.
Why would you send a comment to Genii? Because, it means you have an opinion, and you feel it might be worthwhile expressing it to people who will be interested.
Please don’t hesitate to offer a correction, a fact, a point of view, or even a spelling that we may have gotten wrong. Let us know if we’ve picked a direction that isn’t to your taste.
And please advise us when something was right—and there should be more of it in the magazine. Your comments are not only welcomed, but we feel they’re important from month to month, providing necessary goals.
📬 Have something to tell us?
We encourage your comments, suggestions, and prohibitions. Reach us with the speed of email at editors@geniimagazine.com. We are, as the original genie insisted, here to serve.