"Are You Doing the Makeup On My Page?"

It's been over 15 years since I worked with and "designed" Nat Hentoff's often controversial column at the Village Voice, but I was still very saddened to hear that he was laid off last week after 50 years of service. Hentoff, Robert Christgau, Stan Mack, and an army of other giant writer-editors there made it such an exciting office to work in.

I'll never forget the first words he said to me, shortly after I had been hired. "Are you doing the makeup on my page?"

In some ways, I always thought that term was better than "layout".

Good luck Nat.


(Yeah, yeah, I know: that's not a Voice cover -- but it's just so perfect!)