Phong Bui

P: What publications and news outlets do you read most frequently to stay up to date?

PB: I read The New Yorker for its insular cosmopolitanism, The Nation for its unflinching critical commentary on political events, New York Review of Books for its rigorous analysis of academic publications—although it should be called New York Review of Each Other’s Books. I also read The TLS (The Times Literary Supplements) for its insightful and wider reviews of all literature. I continue to read and browse through other newspaper, magazines, journals, and other printed matters in my collection such as The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, The Baltimore Sun, New Masses, Marxist Quarterly, Partisan Review, The Paris Review, Dissent, Blast, The Seven Arts, Verve, Minotaure, Cahiers D’Art, Derrier Le Miroir, View, Gentry, among several others, and of course the Brooklyn Rail.

P: How has your role as a  publisher changed over your career?

PB: There’s a Vietnamese proverb that says, “To live in a long tube, be thin. To live in a barrel, be round,” which has been the view of my creative life ever since I came to the U.S. in 1980. The aspiration is to be fearless of changes, hence my role as a publisher metamorphosizes perpetually. Because of this, the Rail’s anti-mission statement is simply to reflect the artist’s journey, channeling his, her, their inner freedom. Every month, while having the structure of meeting deadlines of immersive contents within our different sections, in addition to vast public programming, such as curatorial projects, book publishing, etc., we are poised to adapt to each project’s requirement. My colleagues and I at the Rail admire John Keats’s“Negative Capability,” the ability to live in uncertainty, mystery, and doubt, without the need to reach out for a reason to justify our action, and Hannah Arendt’s term “Thinking Without the Bannister.”

P: What (art)work stopped you dead in your tracks and grabbed your attention recently?

PB: Rather than a singular work of art, Theaster Gates’s exhibit at Gagosian, Black Vessel definitely expanded my thinking about art, partly because it wonderfully combined the visceral power of Theaster’s huge heart and the clarity from his conceptual mind. The evidence of his body is equally present in his sense of touch, especially in his ceramic works. I interviewed Theaster for our December/January issue, which should be included in every young artist’s reading list.

P: What is the one thing you would like to see more in creative industries?

PB: I’d like to see more cross-pollination among our creative fields of discipline. For far too long, the visual arts, poetry, fiction, dance, music, etc. have been kept separate from one another, probably since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, from which time almost all of the progressive thinkers, bohemian artists began to migrate to the academy hence losing the discourse of national politics. As specialization encourages more esoteric and insular communication, it inevitably led to the division between our greater communities. This is the sole reason the Rail was created, to bring our friends and colleagues from the arts and humanities to cross-pollinate. This is our only arsenal against any social and political oppression.