An internship at a national newspaper taught me a great deal about magazine journalism, but also something much more important: so much of our journalism repeats itself. The same structures, the same names, topics, gloomy tones. I kept thinking... how do these writers sit here each day writing the same stuff? Why aren't we seeing any stories no one is telling? Rihanna is pregnant again, no way. But what about Franz Kafka going veggie for activism? Or the absent presences of Black women in the theatre? Why isn't anyone talking about that?
I like to think — and please, for my little fantasy world, don't tell me if you disagree — that this magazine is an answer to those questions. The aim is to show you something that invites you to see the world at a different angle. Journalism can be intelligent without being inaccessible, thoughtful without being heavy and surprising without being sensational, and with Zimmer, we're trying to show you beautiful people that there is always something worth discovering if you take some time to look for it. If you find even the smallest thing to pique your interest, then we've done the job just right.
'Zimmer' is Vincent's last name. It was my decision to name the magazine Zimmer, but only because I thought it was a cool word (and it is!). After some thinking and small analysis, I was informed that 'Zimmer' means 'room' in German. When you say 'Vincent Room', it doesn't sound as cool, though.
We like to think of this little magazine as a little room, but it would be very well decorated with one of those bookshelf ladder things. I'm sure many can relate when I say you can read a magazine or publisher sometimes and you don't feel a connection to it — like you're a number in a sea of hundreds of buyers. But here, we care a lot about each person, as if we're all sitting in a room on the floor with a really nice rug, talking about what we thought about X author's new book. It's a special community we've built here, and even as it grows, you're always welcome. We'd love to get to know you.
So it's a little room. Maybe in the future we'll have to upgrade to a bigger premises, but it's perfectly okay like this just for now.