I’m on the phone with Alta Journal’s digital editor, Beth Spotswood, before I begin my summer internship. Beth can tell I’m anxious and tries to soothe my nerves by saying, “This call is also to see if you’re a fun person.” She proceeds to tell me, with great energy, that she’s part of a “Diet Coke community.” I have no idea what that means, but I’m intrigued.
Fast-forward three months and I’m now working in Alta’s office, commonly referred to as “the clubhouse.” It’s an unusual space in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood that used to function as the office of an interior designer, whose style is still evident in the decor.
My new boss, editorial director Blaise Zerega, loves to tell me about a story by Gay Talese called “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” which was published in Esquire in 1966. A formative piece of magazine reporting, it transported the reader with its fiction-like narrative. Blaise tells me over lunch that he constantly uses the Sinatra profile as a reminder to set the stage. “Write about what’s on the wall, what you see out the window,” he says.
As he tells me this, we’re sitting in a Peruvian restaurant. I notice that the hanging lights have glass like warped crème brûlée. My stomach rumbles. I order a plate of pork and rice. It’s bland but rich. On our walk to the restaurant, I had mentioned raising hogs. I try to forget about them as I take a bite. Now Blaise is telling me I should write the hog story. I smile, inspired. “Winston the Pig Has a Cold”? How about that, Esquire?
One of my new colleagues, senior editor Matt Haber, is my assigned editor for the hog story. Since the first day we met, Matt’s sworn mission has been to make me a print evangelist. On our first day together at the clubhouse, he took me downstairs to the storage area and selected six Alta issues for me to take home and study, including the Desert Issue, for its gorgeous design; the Writers Issue, with its rich mix of stories; In Search of the Secret West, with its special map; and Issue 28, with the cover story about a New Age shaman, “The Case of the Missing Chacmools.” Mission complete, Matt: My friends now call me Will “Have You Heard of Castaneda” Garrett.
Print evangelism is not the only bargain I upheld. On some mornings, I’d caption social media posts for Alta’s Facebook and X accounts. Then I would dive into whatever projects were at hand, variously working with editors and fact-checkers or composing a puzzle for the magazine. I synopsized new book releases, organized our YouTube channel, and fact-checked book reviews and the Ask a Californian column.
Associate editor Jessica Blough showed me the ropes of social media posting and book release summaries. Her advice was always well thought out. But almost as soon as I got to the magazine, Jess left for grad school. The Alta team members keep reminding one another that she’s not gone forever.
Beyond the clubhouse, the Alta staff is spread across California and beyond. Everyone from our publisher to our books editor to copy editors, fact-checkers, and our creative, art, and operations directors has been so supportive to me.
I’ve gone back to school, but I’m still hoping to do a blind Diet Coke taste test with Beth. Maybe Alta can have a soda column? There’s got to be something else I can do. Let me help—I’ll stay on.•
Will Garrett, Alta Journal's 2024 summer intern, has written for Colorado College's Cipher magazine and the Catalyst newspaper.
