Lorin Stein Keeps Paris Review Afloat

At 38 years old, editor, writer, and translator Lorin Stein, A&S’96 (MA),has one of the more enviable — and difficult — positions in contemporary publishing. It involves maintaining a storied publication that for 50 years was associated with one and only one witty and tirelessly sociable man. A publication that, despite its small circulation, is revered internationally for its dedication to publishing emerging novelists and poets. A publication where any major editorial changes will be scrutinized, and likely criticized, in cultural tabloids and literary circles. Stein is only the fourth editor of the Paris Review in its entire 59-year history. And since he took over in April 2010, he and his staff have had to continually defend why an old-fashioned literary journal remains relevant at a time when literary life is becoming more and more digitized.