by Walter Foley
How did we get here, and where do we want to go? Reflections on self-reliance and sensemaking during strange times. Original art by Frog the Parhelia.
The Sable Collective is a mutually- supporting network of local artisans who value self-reliance and community.
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by Clarissa F. Griebel
When we’re challenged, what stories do we tell ourselves about what happened, and why does it matter? Thoughts by Clarissa F. Greibel.
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By Diana Lu
The strange resilience of Spam, its cultural relevance and resonance, and how Poi Dog owner Kiki Aranita would have prepared it on her closed restaurant’s third birthday.
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by Jared Michael Lowe
In reflecting on his literary and familial lineage, writer Jared Micahel Lowe finds a new way to experience grace.
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by Lauren Earline Leonard
Earlie Bird Production’s Lauren Earline Leonard profiles theatre icon Blanka Zizka, in lockdown in New York, but looking ahead to emerging possibilities in Philadelphia.
by Gerald Veasley
In the Carolinas in 1917, an American family navigates poverty, racism, a global pandemic, and warnings of another coming plague. The first of a two-part excerpt from Gus & Liz, a novel-in-progress by jazz bassist Gerald Veasley. Art by Christopher Spencer.
by Virginia Watts
Looking back on a moment of wisdom about healing and resilience. Art by Amy Postic.
by Heather Shayne Blakeslee
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by Diana Lu
Anchor businesses are part of what make our neighborhoods feel like home over the years. For this issue’s irreplaceable stalwarts, columnist Diana Lu celebrates Quetta Halal Market, Sarcone’s Bakery, and Duross & Langel.
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by Sarah Rose Etter
Sculptor Darla Jackson’s iconic work is unmistakably powerful, but so is the creep of negative thinking. She opens up to writer Sarah Rose Etter about work, motherhood, depression, and how a larger-than-life bear sculpture pulled her out of her own dark thoughts.
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Fiction by Sarah Rose Etter
In Sarah Rose Etter’s new novel, The Book of X, a young woman is born with a deformity that makes her question whether she is the monster that people think she is.
Words by Joshua Mehigan // Artwork by Kate Glasheen
Katherine Hollander’s “Der Tod” is a deceptively simple poem about how death woos us and lulls us. Enjoy the Close Read by poetry editor Joshua Mehigan.
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Essay by Angel Hogan // Artwork by Andrea Walls Etter
A DNA test sits in the living room of a multiracial adoptee. What would it mean to take the test? Whom might it harm? A reflection on family and identity by Angel Hogan.
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by Brian Leaf and Diana Lu
Two close cousins recount their ongoing journey together, from early experiences of “otherness” in immigrant families through road trips that have remade their conception of self and family.