Twenty Years: A Farewell Editorial

With this issue (CW 106.4), I will have completed twenty years as editor of Classical World and am stepping down. When I took over the editorship in 1993, I had the daunting good fortune to succeed Jerry Clack, whose sixteen years at the helm was, at the time, a record tenure, second only to that of Charles Knapp (1913–36). Jerry not only put an indelible stamp on the journal but also on its parent, the Classical Association of the Atlantic States, which he guided as executive director for many years. In this, my final editorial, I want to repeat what I said in my first (CW 87.1, 3–4), viz., how grateful I am to him for his stewardship of the journal and for his guidance during that editorial transition.

This new editorial transition offers the opportunity to review some of the highlights of the past two decades and to acknowledge the many people who have made these achievements possible. In the brief overview I contributed to the Centennial issue (CW 101.1, 3–4), I noted some important developments up to that point. These included, on the technical side, a handsome redesign of the journal, its transition to a quarterly publication, and its online presence through Project MUSE and JSTOR. On the editorial side, the journal’s scope expanded to include a much wider range of articles on ancient literature, history, material culture, and reception; our book reviews were not only longer than in the past but also more detailed and authoritative; and the journal’s commitment to teachers at all levels was enhanced not only by the publication of more frequent and substantial Paedagogus sections, but also by surveys of textbooks and A/V material collected in our biennial “Texts and Technology” issues.

The years since the Centennial have seen further important developments, of which I will single out only three. First, although subscriptions to scholarly journals are declining (and CW has experienced some of this as well), the finances of the journal and the Association which it supports are very healthy, since we are able to rely not only on subscriptions and advertising revenue but also on significant and increasing royalties from online aggregators. Second, although it is published by a regional association, CW has achieved not only national but also international status, with increasing numbers of submissions coming from international scholars. The third and perhaps most important change is that the journal transitioned this year to the Johns Hopkins University Press, which now publishes CW on behalf of CAAS. A major publisher in the field of classics, JHUP offers many advantages, not the least of which is the potential to reach new audiences and to respond more effectively to trends in scholarly publishing.

I want to thank CAAS—its membership and successive boards of directors—for entrusting me with the stewardship of the journal. I must also thank two institutions, the University of Pennsylvania and New York University, which have generously hosted CW and provided gratis so many services to the journal. I also owe a deep debt of gratitude to the many individuals who have served on the editorial board over the years. In particular, I want to single out the two Associate Editors who have been with me from the outset, Judith Hallett and Lee Pearcy, as well as three NYU colleagues who have been with the journal the longest, our Book Reviews Editor, David Sider, our Production Coordinator, Aaron DeLand, and our Managing Editor, Sally Sanderlin. To the last two individuals, the entire Association owes an enormous debt of gratitude, since they have worked tirelessly over this past year to ensure that two big transitions—to a new publisher and new editors—would go smoothly.

Having begun 106 years ago as a tabloid weekly for the New York City classical community, Classical World has become a major voice in our field, publishing important scholarship on all aspects of classical antiquity and meeting the needs of a large and diverse constituency, from university researchers to teachers in schools. CW has truly come of age, and it has been a privilege...