Praising The Drawbridge

Visiting London recently, I got my first hands-on chance to appreciate The Drawbridge. It calls itself a magazine, but it can be more specifically described with two words that almost never appear side-by-side: new broadsheet.

The quarterly is ambitiously simple. Each issue is themed (Money, Memory, Rage, Risk, etc.) and roughly 2 dozen authors and artists weigh in. Contributors are a fascinating mix of the familiar and unfamiliar, including Isabelle Allende, Paul Davis, J.G. Ballard, Taryn Simon, and Jeff Fisher (just to scrape the surface of the scores of creative types who have taken part).

It appears on the newsstand quarterfolded, with a smart bellyband showing off a few of the better-known contributors. And their website is elegant, too. It can't give you the punch of the broadsheet--but it may be your only avenue from this side of the pond. Take a look.