In Cesar Aira's Latest, 'Artforum' Has A Magic Beyond The Page
Aira's oddball new novella chronicles his love affair with the magazine Artforum, to which he ascribes almost magical qualities. It's a giddy, self-indulgent but delightful read.
What do people do with their old magazines? I've often wondered why it is that the décor mavens of the world have not devised a clever way for me to show off my old New Yorkers the way I can my books. Piled on top of one another, they droop and ultimately slide right off. It's a nightmare. London Review of Books has a good solution: A pricey binder in which one can place old copies by curling strings around the centerfolds. The binder, then, goes on the bookshelf.
But for myI've devised a ritual that allows me to avoid thinking about them I put copies at least a year old into a bag which I seal. I take a few days to forget about them, then throw the bag in the recycling bin.
