I’ve been enjoying the response to this piece. Naturally, there’s also pushback. I welcome that.

One sentiment I am struck by, in some quarters, is the belief that new things can’t happen or this can’t be new. Not this! For 200 years, there were always new literary movements, large and small, and they cohered in very interesting ways. They all, of course, had antecedents. Literally nothing has been invented whole cloth. The New Journalists looked to Lillian Ross’ New Yorker. The Modernists looked to Dante.

The New Cultural Critics have plenty of influences. This is all, obviously, young, and could change in form over time. But it’s quite exciting. The cultural writing here is better than a lot of what is found in major newspapers and magazines, and I say this as someone who admires traditional publications, writes for traditional publications, and hope they exist another 100 years.