Sisyphus at rest
Looking back on 22 years as editor-in-chief of The Week
When I first began writing in this little box, the Sept. 11 attacks were five months away. The spring and summer of 2001 were an idyll before a great storm; there was speculation that we'd reached "the end of history," with the Cold War receding, peace prevailing and Western democracy triumphant. The internet and cellphones were just starting to transform our lives. The past 22 years have been a tumultuous, wondrous and terrible time in our history, and serving as The Week's editor-in-chief has given me the great privilege of trying in these pages to help readers — and myself — make some sense of it all. After 1,148 issues, I have decided to step down, and turn the magazine over to the skillful stewardship of executive editor Theunis Bates, who will be ably assisted by managing editor Susan Caskie and our other fine writers and editors. I am not retiring, and will continue as editor-at-large here while pursuing some other long-postponed writing and editing ambitions. Endings are also beginnings.
I am deeply grateful to my current and past colleagues at The Week, who've worked so hard and skillfully to make this magazine successful. I also owe a great debt to you, the readers, whose enthusiasm, loyalty and feedback have fueled me through many long days (and helped put my daughters through college). Producing a weekly magazine is a relentless challenge; I have often compared our jobs to the mythic labors of Sisyphus, who was sentenced by angry gods to roll an enormous boulder up a hill only to see it roll back down, and to start rolling his burden up again, perpetually. In a compelling essay, the French existentialist Albert Camus argued that Sisyphus' defiant embrace of his fate transformed his labors into a source of meaning — and even joy. "One must imagine Sisyphus happy,'' Camus concluded. As I leave the boulder in good hands, I am happy. Thank you, friends. See you somewhere down the road.
This is the editor's letter in the current issue of The Week magazine.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
William Falk is editor-in-chief of The Week, and has held that role since the magazine's first issue in 2001. He has previously been a reporter, columnist, and editor at the Gannett Westchester Newspapers and at Newsday, where he was part of two reporting teams that won Pulitzer Prizes.
-
5 cleverly clashing cartoons about the presidential debate
Cartoons Artists take on a deepfake debate, winners and losers, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Pélicot case: a horror exposed
Talking Point This case is unusually horrifying, but the misogyny that enabled is chillingly common
By The Week UK Published
-
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: pure 'nostalgia bait'
Talking Point Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder return for sequel to the 1988 cult classic
By The Week UK Published