45th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL - Our Gang - staff members - Brief Article

National Review, Dec 31, 2000 by Jay Nordlinger

'Write something light, witty, and charming about the staff-and keep it real short." Those are my instructions. So would you like to hear something l, w, and c about the staff-"real short"? Okay, here it is.

I'll take a little mental tour of the office, or at least the editorial side of it (as distinct from the business side, which makes corporate America shake). In the office next to mine is Kathryn Lopez, associate editor, a native New Yorker. She was graduated from the Dominican Academy on the Upper East Side, and there she was named "All Dominican Girl." Boy, does she rue the day she let that one slip. Some of us refer to her as "Kathryn Lopez, ADG," which she hates. Too bad.

Then we have Michael Potemra, deputy managing editor, who knows all things literary, and all things everything. I first met Mike in 1986; I thought he knew everything then; strangely, he knows even more now.

Next to him is Chris McEvoy, production editor, who is super-competent (omnicompetent, actually), a Mets fan, and the father of two of the most adorable girls in creation, Abby and Jilly (can you stand it?). Next to him is another Chris, or Cris, rather, Cris Rapp, an associate editor. We call out "Cris Rapp!" or "Chris Mac!" to keep things straight. Cris Rapp is from Palm Beach, Fla., but for some reason he has been unable to secure the election for Bush-at this writing, at least.

Then there's Dorothy McCartney-yes, that Dorothy McCartney, our executive editor. For years, we saw her name roll down as part of the closing credits of Firing Line. When I first met her, I mentioned she was famous for this reason, and she denied it, but then she remembered this: "I was in a bank one time, out in Long Island, and the teller said, 'Are you the Dorothy McCartney?'" The teller, too, knew Dorothy from Firing Line-just like the rest of America.

In the "art room" are Jessica Kelsey, our half-French (and engaged) web master, and Luba Kolomytseva, our art director, who is from Ukraine, and who is one of three native Russian speakers at NR (the others being Galina Veygman and Irina Dynkevich of the accounting department). (With illustrator/caricaturist Roman Genn, we're a regular Literaturnaya Gazeta around here.)

Outside Rich Lowry's office is Elizabeth Fitton, a delightful and invaluable editorial associate, and inside Rich Lowry's office is Rich Lowry, NR's editor and once the terror of Arlington, Va.'s Little League. Rich often takes phantom swings with a baseball bat, which look about as good as my phantom swings with a golf club, which doesn't bode well for Rich's batting average. (Just kidding.)

In our library is John Virtes, NR's research director, whose diligence and steadiness are wonders of nature. Nearby is associate editor Julie Crane, a formidable opinionist and a walking Fowler's. Also nearby is senior editor Linda Bridges, who thinks Olympian thoughts, performs Olympian tasks, and stays in close touch with Mt. Olympus itself (which is to say, WFB's home offices).

Down in Soho is literary editor Adam Bellow, who generally works from his home there, but who comes in every week or so to share his wisdom and good cheer, and to wade through the small mountains of books wanting to be reviewed. (The bad ones should hope that they're not.)

Travel now to our Washington bureau, where we find-cozy next to a fireplace-Kate O'Beirne: conservative star, TV star, our star. Some people think her the nicest person in Washington, which is not as slight a compliment as you may think. Working alongside her is Ramesh Ponnuru, scourge of the Democratic party, and sometime (and necessary) scourge of the Republican party. Also John Miller, another brilliant scourge. And Melissa Seckora, yet another.

This very month-December 2000-the reporter Byron York joined us in our Washington office. Still another brilliant scourge? Oh, yes.

Back up to New York for a second. To do some heavy editorial lifting, in comes Rick Brookhiser, who first contributed to NR at age 14. What's he been doing lately? Not much: He writes for us, has a biweekly (and fantastically mordant) column in the New York Observer, is at work on his sixth book (a biography of the Adamses-not Gomez, Morticia, and them, but the second president, his son, the sixth, and so on), is filming a documentary on George Washington, etc., etc.

Also lifting the editorial load is Professor Jeffrey Hart. Now retired from Dartmouth, this astounding man is said to have been the most popular professor in the Ivy League. He is certainly the most popular professor around NR's editorial table. I have often remarked, "Jeff, I should be paying you tuition." He has been nice enough not to respond, "Then why don't you?"

Another senior editor from whom learning, and experience, ooze is David Pryce-Jones, who is wrapping up his 22nd book-a novel, to go with his nine other novels, which occupy many feet of shelf space with his volumes of criticism, history, biography, and reporting. To be able to call on David . . . well, it seems almost unfair to other magazines.