Issue 7 Preview 🤝

Wherein we tap into someone else's ability to gracefully galvanize community.

Giant vase by Ariela, giant clam from Snug Harbor, Rhea garlic concentrate, eggs from Katie’s chickens, Danica Candles from up near me, Ricotta Cake from Double Grazie, Olive Oil from wonder-buds Wonder Valley, sumptuous loaves from Night Moves, stinky delicious cheese from The Cheese Shop of Portland.

Yes, it’s true the zines are coming on fast! A monthly print output is no joke and I am certainly not laughing. This month’s issue, for November, is sort of about gathering, sort of about meals, sort of about community. Sort of. Let me explain.

I wanted to put together an issue that was seasonal, but not so on the nose. Thanksgiving, but not really. What makes this holiday, this time of year unique? Stodgy food? Football? Not for me, at least. No, ultimately I think it has to do with the gathering-together. (As my dad likes to say, but I suspect doesn’t fully mean, “It’s not about the food!”)

Julia Sherman’s Beet and Goat Cheese Dip having a glowy disco moment, amongst eggs.

That said, gathering people, with all their differences and their proclivities and their goddamn opinions, is not easily done. And to do it with warmth and generosity and honest curiosity and grace is a real feat. Very few of us can pull it off, I think. Which is why, mid-rumination, I thought, “I’d better pull Katie in on this.”

My friend Katie is co-owner of The Post Supply, a very beautiful shop here in Maine (but really “down in Portland”) and, to just get to it already, she’s really good at pulling people together. Forging community seems to be some sort of impulse, a reflex. We talked, then we pulled in her TPS partner Hannah, and, together with their Gal Friday, photographer Tabitha Barnard, we made this issue. It celebrates a few members of our Maine community, plus a few elsewhere—and also the maximal and joyous excess of this variety of getting together.

And! (This issue is all about “plus,” “and,” and “more”) To round it all out, we asked for a few recipes from the community, which I’ve spun together into a handy, downloadable PDF. We’ve got dips, we’ve got galettes, we’ve got several states of radishes. And cake! I personally will be making a few of these for my family’s befuddling “day-after-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving.” Thanksgiving, but not really, as it were.

OK! That’s it because my goodness I need an Underberg or I’ll burst! I hope your holiday is uncomplicated and maybe joyful and maybe-maybe-maybe a bit much.

👐