Press Action

Monday, February 09, 2004

Press Action Hero of the Week: GILLES D'AYMERY

“Are you about yourself or are you about an idea?” That’s the question Gilles d’Aymery asks people who want to contribute articles to Swans, the online magazine that he founded and edits. He may not ask it to their face or in email correspondence. But it’s a question he’s determined to answer as he reads the essays people send him. If he notices a contributor is straying from the magazine’s commitment to ideas, d’Aymery isn’t afraid to cut that person loose from the Swans family.

If he could get away with it, d’Aymery would address the dilemma by publishing Swans without any bylines. It’s a policy that would quickly suppress all egos. As an egalitarian, d’Aymery would also erase his name as editor from the masthead, stripping any semblance of lineage from the ideas presented in the publication.

The idea — the thoughtful presentation of an argument — is paramount, not the person behind it. As someone who grew up immersed in France’s social democratic tradition, d’Aymery, who now lives in the San Francisco Bay area, casts an outsider’s eye on the individualistic spirit in the United States.

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