This passage is adapted from Esther Ferington’s “Chronicle of a New Age” in the July/August 2007 issue of Humanities magazine, a publication of the National Endowment for the Humanities. [51] Published in London every Thursday morning, a boundless source of ideas was the modernist magazine The New Age during its heyday from 1907 to 1922.
The New Age informed its readers about the new field of psychoanalysis, debated different versions of socialism, published translations of Chekhov’s plays, popularized the novels of [52] Dostoyevsky, and Tolstoy, and explored post-impressionism and abstract art.
Instead of following one editorial line, The New Age was known for its medley of perspectives. Each issue featured essays, reviews, and articles on politics, economics, literature, the arts—and just about any other subject that caught the interest of its editor, Alfred Richard Orage.
Orage excelled at finding [53] errors before they hit print. At one time or another, Orage’s editorial lasso pulled in George Bernard Shaw, G. K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, H. G. Wells, Upton Sinclair, John Galsworthy, E. Nesbit, and the poet Siegfried Sassoon.
[54] Orage built a loyal following of writers despite the fact that he rarely paid them. With The New Age perpetually in debt, he provided fees primarily to those who desperately needed the money—joking to others that the magazine might as well have been named “No Wage.” Many writers who could (and did) get paid elsewhere contributed to The New Age because it offered the freedom to speak their minds. “The golden rule is that there is no golden rule. Give me a man who writes sincerely, and I’ll respect his opinions,” Orage declared in 1909. But contributors also [55] had written well. “Sincerity without beauty is almost certain to result in lies,” he contended. “Until a writer can express his opinion beautifully, he is not sure of it. The deeper the conviction, the more beautiful its expression.”
Orage was famously kind to young would-be authors, replying to each submission with a personal note composed and sent on the day that the article arrived. His rejection letters often mixed unsparing criticism with friendly encouragement. [56] In the same way, this approach added fresh talent to his contributor pool.
The New Age’s precarious finances must have been all too familiar for [57] Orage who was brought up in genteel poverty. After a local benefactor paid his way through a teacher-training college, Orage taught at a Yorkshire elementary school for several years and embarked on a marriage that later failed. In his free time, he joined the Independent Labor Party and became interested in [58] the writings of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and philosophizing about the mystical theosophy, an odd mix of ideas that he would hold throughout most of his life. In the early 1900s, he and his friends Holbrook Jackson and Arthur Penty cofounded the Leeds Arts Club, [59] attesting influential speakers such as William Butler Yeats, Chesterton, Belloc, and Shaw.
Later, Orage and Jackson became interested in editing their own magazine. With financial support from Shaw and a theosophist banker, Lewis Wallace, they purchased The New Age, relaunching it as their own in May 1907. Jackson departed some months later, leaving Orage as sole editor.
With The New Age headed toward its circulation high of 22,000 [60] subscribers; Orage provided his own explanation of why so many different thinkers and writers were drawn to his magazine. “They want a hand in the creation of the new age,” he wrote in January 1909.
This passage has been excerpted and adapted from the original, including minor punctuation changes, spelling changes, and other modifications that have not substantially changed content or intent. Which of the following choices represents the clearest and most concise way to convey all of the information in the sentence?
Published in London every Thursday morning, a boundless source of ideas was the modernist magazine The New Age during its heyday from 1907 to 1922. Not Answered A) NO CHANGE B) Published in London every Thursday morning, during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, the modernist magazine The New Age was a boundless source of ideas during this time. C) The modernist magazine The New Age was a boundless source of ideas published in London every Thursday morning during its heyday from 1907 to 1922. D) Published in London every Thursday morning, the modernist magazine The New Age was a boundless source of ideas during its heyday from 1907 to 1922. Dostoyevsky, and Tolstoy, and explored post-impressionism and abstract art. Not Answered A) NO CHANGE B) Dostoyevsky, and Tolstoy and explored post-impressionism and abstract art. C) Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy and, explored post-impressionism and abstract art. D) Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy, and explored post-impressionism and abstract art. errors before they hit print Not Answered A) NO CHANGE B) strong writers C) desperate contributors D) new funding sources Which of the following choices best matches the tone of the passage?
Orage built a loyal following of writers despite the fact that he rarely paid them. Not Answered A) NO CHANGE B) Orage really pulled in a lot of writers even though he hardly ever paid them. C) You’d be surprised that Orage pulled in a lot of writers, even though he rarely paid them. D) But get this: Orage was still able to build a loyal following of writers, even though he rarely ever paid them. had written Not Answered A) NO CHANGE B) had to write C) have written D) have to write In the same way Not Answered A) NO CHANGE B) Over time C) On the other hand D) Despite it all Orage who was brought up in genteel poverty. Not Answered A) NO CHANGE B) Orage, who was brought up in genteel poverty. C) Orage, who was brought up, in genteel poverty. D) Orage, who was brought up in, genteel poverty. the writings of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and philosophizing about the mystical theosophy Not Answered A) NO CHANGE B) the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s writings and he read about the mystical philosophy of theosophy C) the writings of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and the mystical philosophy of theosophy D) the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s writings and for the mystical philosophy of theosophy attesting Not Answered A) NO CHANGE B) attracting C) attending D) attenuating subscribers; Orage Not Answered A) NO CHANGE B) subscribers: Orage C) subscribers—Orage D) subscribers, Orage
Here are the best choices for each question based on clarity, conciseness, and tone:
Published in London every Thursday morning, a boundless source of ideas was the modernist magazine The New Age during its heyday from 1907 to 1922.
Dostoyevsky, and Tolstoy, and explored post-impressionism and abstract art.
errors before they hit print
Orage built a loyal following of writers despite the fact that he rarely paid them.
had written
In the same way
Orage who was brought up in genteel poverty.
the writings of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and philosophizing about the mystical theosophy
attesting
subscribers; Orage
These choices maintain the original meaning while improving clarity and conciseness where necessary.