The Smart Set
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the 1928 MGM film starring William Haines, see The Smart Set (1928 film)
- For the nonprofit, The Smart Set, see The Smart Set (TSS)
The Smart Set was a literary magazine founded in America in March 1900 by William d'Alton Mann. It was edited by H. L. Mencken (1914–1923) and George Jean Nathan. Calling itself "a magazine of cleverness," it provided a haven for writers just getting started, as well as for established authors whose more daring efforts could find no other market.
In May 1929 it absorbed The New McClure's Magazine. The last issue was published in July 1930 after having changed its name to The New Smart Set for the last three issues. Authors represented it its pages during its 30-year run included Willa Cather, Dorothy Parker, Ben Hecht, Sinclair Lewis, Carl Van Vechten and Maxwell Anderson.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's first professional story sale was "Babes in the Woods," published in the September 1919 issue of The Smart Set. Though its circulation at the time was relatively small at 22,000, it was a highly regarded magazine with a sophisticated, literary reputation.[citation needed]
Inspired by the magazine, The Smart Set (TSS) - a nonprofit that works to increase interest, literacy, and involvement in science, design, and culture - was founded in 2006.
In 2007, Drexel University launched an online cultural journal named The Smart Set. Drexel's journal shares some ideals with the original Smart Set, and lists Owen Hatteras, a pen name used by the editors of the original journal, on its masthead, but its connection to Mencken and Nathan's magazine is unofficial.
