The Washington Monthly’s Love Affair with Words

Where the attention span of today’s adults is measured in nanoseconds rather than hours, the Washington Monthly is a monument to human concentration. With pieces stretching to 10,000 words, the Washington Monthly dives deep, and its readers are determined to learn something. Thankfully, our editors respect the brisk pace of modern life, so many pieces are much shorter. That this magazine, with its storied 55-year history, continues to report and write at length about politics and policy in a country where only 31 percent of eighth graders can read and where college students don’t read whole books is a defiant stand against a culture that labels three-paragraph e-mails “TL;DR” (too long, didn’t read). 

Speaking of books, the Washington Monthly reviews them—from politics to history to biography. For current nonfiction, look no further than the three to five reviews (more in the Spring and Fall Books issues) in every magazine print edition and more online at Washingtonmonthly.com. My favorites are the biographies of women like publishing icon Judith Jones and television icon Barbara Walters, both beautifully reviewed by Sara Bhatia in “The Tastemaker” and “The Art of the ‘Get.’” For a trip to the crossroads of science and culture, Christina Larson never disappoints with reviews like the “Ecology of the Indoors.” 

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To underscore the sacred space that these reviews hold in the hearts and minds of our Washington Monthly family, five years ago, the magazine launched the Kukula Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Book Reviewing in memory of Kukula Kapoor Glastris, the magazine’s longtime and beloved books editor. I wish I had known Kuku better and longer. When I think of her, she is at her desk amidst stacks of books, asking about my children and inspiring me to see my name on the byline of a book review. One day, I finally did. 

Washington Monthly is famous for giving whip-smart youngsters a place to cut their teeth in writing and journalism. Many of its alumni have gone on to win Pulitzers, including Katherine Boo, Jon Meacham, and Taylor Branch. But in my case, a part-time job as the magazine’s business manager gave this not-so-young, stay-at-home mother a chance to reimagine her life. I had a degree in English Literature and love reading and writing, but I had zero background in business management. Claire Iseli at the magazine hired me anyway and taught me to manage spreadsheets and cash flow.  

In 2021, Washington Post reporter Emma Brown wrote a book called To Raise a Boy, and WM editors asked me to review it. I guess they thought, who better to do it than the resident business manager raising two boys herself? Since then, I’ve reviewed other books and published essays in magazines and my hometown newspaper. Now, I square my shoulders and call myself a writer, and I have Washington Monthly and Kuku’s quiet influence to thank for that.  

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I’m proud of the words I’ve contributed to the Washington Monthly, which has produced so many valuable words. But it can only keep publishing with your support. Please donate. Do it now. I don’t always agree with the Monthly’s politics but it’s not seeking compliance, only a chance to persuade. In an age of dogmatism, I think that’s even more reason to cheer its survival. Our way of life depends on every person’s willingness to contemplate another point of view. 

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