Annual 2023

As I have been preparing for the final full issue of Farmer-ish journal, I researched to find out how long The Dial, the journal run by the Transcendentalists in the 1800s, had lasted. The original run lasted 3 years and 10 months. When we wrap up this year in December, Farmer-ish will have lived as a journal for 3 years and 7 months. Of course, it seems bold to compare one’s journal to The Dial, but Farmer-ish has shared writing from award-winning authors and made a space for creative writing about farming, nature, and our connections to animals, plants, and each other, which seems pretty important.

But, just as the Transcendentalists couldn’t get their journal to sell, I have struggled on the financial side of things. And running this journal has been joyful work, but it has been more work than I could have imagined when I started it in 2020. In fact, the work was epic. For those of you who have followed our journal, you know that I have experienced some fairly serious health problems in the last year, which led to my decision to close up the journal at the end of this year. When I was so sick, the only thing I could think about was how short life was and that I didn’t want to spend more time than I had to at a computer.

I am so proud to say goodbye in such a beautiful way. Tonight, on the Autumnal Equinox, I get to share with you so much beautiful writing. I have cried and smiled and loved every piece that is in this issue. This final issue is different. It is more like an annual, and there are treasures for every season in this issue. I am also so proud to announce that pre-orders are now available for a beautiful collection of poetry in honor of the Winter Solstice–Poems for the Solstice. This collection features works from award-winning poets, including Maine’s own Poet Laureate, as well as works from first-time authors, something that is always so dear to me. I hope you will consider purchasing a copy and supporting our final endeavor as a journal, as I am convinced it is the perfect winter gift and a hygge treat.

For now, however, our last issue is here. I hope you will find something in this issue that you love or something that inspires you–and something worth sharing with others. We have delicious recipes, gorgeous poems, and essays that are heart-achingly good. It has been one of the greatest honors of my life getting to publish such beautiful writers.

Sometimes, when I think about the end of this journal, I feel like a failure, but I have gotten around to the idea that nothing is a failure. It’s just learning. I don’t know what my path ahead will be. It seems that my health crisis led to a kind of identity crisis, but I feel like I am in a stage of discovery, which is both terrible and wonderful for someone like me, who always has to have a plan. I will keep blogging about life on the farm though and hope to keep Farmer-ish alive in some way, far into the future.

I hope the pieces in Farmer-ish journal have been a treasure to you as much as they have been to me. I learned in my research on The Dial that, decades after its original run, someone picked up the journal and started it again. So one just never knows.

In This Issue