Travel writing in the “Mad Men” era: The myth and legacy of Holiday Magazine

“Holiday gave its writers room to tell a comprehensive story. A place was evoked in thousands of words instead of the usual 800 we are now accustomed to reading.” – Pamela Fiori

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Pamela talk about the origins of Holiday Magazine, why it attracted good writers, and how its creation was connected to advertising markets (2:15); famous articles to appear in the magazine, and why it was successful (7:00); who the magazine’s audience was, how television and political-cultural changes in America affected things in the 1960s (15:00); the decline of Holiday Magazine magazine amid the economic and cultural changes of the 1970s, and why there are no archives (24:30); and the legacy of Holiday Magazine in the 21st century.

Pamela Fiori made publishing history in May 1993, when she became the first woman to be named editor in chief of Town & Country, America’s oldest continuously published general-interest magazine. She is the author of Holiday: The Best Travel Magazine that Ever Was.

Notable Links:

• Holiday Magazine (travel publication)
• See the USA in Your Chevrolet (song performed by Dinah Shore)
• The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1950s TV show)
• Travels with Charley (1962 John Steinbeck travel book)
• Saturday Evening Post (American general-interest magazine)
• Ladies’ Home Journal (American women’s magazine)
• Curtis Publishing (American magazine publisher)
• Ted Patrick (magazine editor)
• Joan Didion (American essayist)
• Roger Angell (American essayist)
• Here is New York (essay and book by E.B. White)
• Mad Men (TV show about advertising)
• Big Sur (coastal region of central California)
• Travel + Leisure (American travel magazine)
• Mag Men, by Walter Bernard (book)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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