A new beginning for Paris Review

When George Plimpton died at 76 this past October, conventional wisdom suggested that it might mean the end of the Paris Review. The venerable journal, which Plimpton founded as a twentysomething expatriate in 1950s Paris, had just celebrated its 50th anniversary, and that seemed like a good, long run.

On Wednesday, however, the board of the Paris Review Foundation announced in New York that, beginning with the forthcoming winter 2004 issue, the journal will continue under the leadership of Brigid Hughes, a 31-year-old Buffalo, N.Y., native who has been managing editor there for the last three years.

In a nod, perhaps, to the inescapability of influence, Hughes will be the Paris Review’s executive editor rather than its editor; Plimpton’s shoes, after all, are impossible to fill.

“A big group of people,” Hughes says by phone from her office in Manhattan, “will work together to get the magazine out, from the other editors to the members of the board, to former contributors who are coming back.” This, in many ways, is utterly consistent with how the Review has always functioned, as what Hughes calls “a conversation between the editors. Even when George was alive, it worked like that.”

Through sheer force of personality, it seems, Plimpton kept the quarterly from dissipating in a cloud of debt and clashing egos, the twin anti-muses of the creative world, for half a century. He weathered the journal’s financial insecurity while encouraging succeeding generations of writers, who have included Philip Roth, Denis Johnson, T.C. Boyle and Mona Simpson.

Such a style appeals to Hughes, though she won’t involve herself in the kinds of “extracurriculars” that Plimpton took on during his career, which ranged from hosting regular literary salons to an extended tenure as New York’s commissioner of fireworks.

Of course, by selecting an insider as editor, the board is looking to send a message about continuity. This, Hughes insists, is as it should be, for despite Plimpton’s death, the Paris Review is at a high-water mark, with a circulation of more than 5,000, and last year’s 50th anniversary anthology is still selling in bookstores.

At the same time, Hughes has no intention of curating a literary museum. Rather, she points out, what’s kept the Review relevant is that “the editors were never really closed to anything,” which remains a goal. “I think,” she says, “that publishing new poetry and fiction is as exciting as it ever was. But there will be some new things, some changes as we go on.”

As for what this means, it could be as subtle as the types of stories the magazine chooses to publish, although there may be more substantial shifts, as well.

“We say,” Hughes explains, “that we’re ‘the international literary quarterly,’ and I’d like to see more international authors to reflect that. I also think we might expand the presence of nonfiction; a lot of writers are doing interesting nonfiction work right now.”

Through it all, there’s the guiding force of Plimpton, who should linger in spirit if not in fact. “I worked with George for years,” Hughes says, “and in a sense was trained by him. So I think it’s safe to say that his presence will continue to be felt.”