The Final Issue of Might Magazine

As Kevin posted a few days ago, we find some interesting things in used books and the boxes and bags they arrive in. Sometimes we know they're interesting but don't get them right out on the sales floor, often because there are suddenly 13 more bags and boxes to comb through.

I stumbled yesterday on such a find: the final issue of Might magazine. Do you remember Might? It was Dave Eggers' magazine in the early 1990s. Wikipedia describes it succinctly: "the magazine might be summarized as an effort by twentysomethings to say something instead of nothing." A worthy goal, eh?

It has much of the same quirkiness folks expect from McSweeney's, its more literary successor, like a wacky table of contents, lots of fine print, a tongue firmly in cheek but with compelling stories of journalistic or literary import.

It was a bit sad to stumble anew upon such good, quirky old-fashioned journalism from the post-zine, pre-Internet era, especially in these times of closing bookstores, online-only magazines, bankrupt newspapers, etc. But it was mostly just some interesting reading, like the cover story. Here's a pull quote from "Are Black People Cooler Than White People?" (the subtitle is "Dumb Question"):

The secret weapon of cool has been the eye open to synthesis. Just about every important black cultural invention of this century has been about synthesizing qualities or elements previously considered antithetical. MLK did it with Eastern thought and civil rights. Chuck Berry brought blues and country music together. --Donnell Alexander, Might#16, July/August, 1997

If you want this copy of the last issue of Might, the first one to email me can have it. Unless I have to mail it. Then it's $10. It pays to live near Green Apple.