Willie Morris's recollections of when he was hired to be an editor at Harper's magazine in 1963 give a glimpse of the New York magazine world as its old ways were dying and the new ways were yet to emerge. Then abruptly, he [Harper's editor in chief John Fischer] asked: "How would you like to come to work at Harper's?" "To do what?" "To be an editor. You've had some sturdy editorial experience, you've been around the country, your writing is adequate and sometimes better than adequate. We can't pay much, but if you're fool enough to want to live in New York, it'll get you by." "How much?" I asked. "$115 a week to start, and more if you work out . " $115 a week! I had been making more than that on the Texas Observer, and New York was rumored to be the most expensive city.....
This is a free excerpt of 150 words. This section contains 483 words. This
article contains 16,677 words (approx. 56 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our America 1960-1969: Media Access Pass.
