I picked my of MONK magazine from Shreeji newsagents in Marylebone, deep in the heart of London. I brought three magazines as part of a perfectly curated set and on my return home to Maida Vale immediately flicked through MONK.
This magazine is great, I like the slightly smaller size format it makes it easier to slip into a bag and carry around. The quality is second to none, the typefaces, imagery and product, exquisite.
For me, the standout was the Catherine Coldstream in Conversation with Marie-Elsa Bragg, a magnificent portrait, then on to one of the best conversational articles I’ve read in a while, with a quote that flawed me “I don’t see spirituality as a separate subject. I see it as encompassing everything” now that really resonated. The article ended, then flowed into a poem by Paul Deaton. Then on to sublime circular paintings by the artist Karen Fitzgerald.
The flow of the magazine, how it all fits together is what sets it out from other publications. I can pick it up and just look at the pictures and read the quotes or a poem, then other times sit and read an article and concentrate on what it's saying. It's certainly something I can learn from.
This magazine is at the top of its game and has found its place on my bookshelf rather than my magazine pile, both of which are growing by the day.