Summer 2026 Issue

Volume 5: Number 1

A couple of months ago, I was listening to a politician speak about the difficult times we are living in. “No one wants to live in interesting times,” he said. “But these are the times we find ourselves in.”

This resonated with me in a powerful way. I have been thinking for at least a year about what I should be doing in challenging times like these. It’s especially confusing when I am convinced things are going to continue to crumble before they get better, and I see others going about their days as if these were not “interesting times.” Maybe we all just don’t talk about it. Maybe we are afraid. Maybe our brains can’t process all of it. Maybe I’m wrong.

I have also been thinking a lot about Thoreau and the Transcendentalists. They lived on the brink of technological discovery that would change humanity. They lived during the horrors of slavey and had to face the reality that their government made it all legal. They lived during a time of war, when the war with Mexico was used as both a resource grab and distraction from a growing discontent about a variety of issues, including slavery. It’s all so familiar. And, what worries me most is that Thoreau was writing right before the start of the Civil War.

In this issue, I asked writers to think about what Thoreau would do in times like these. The responses were very much focused on stepping back from technology and becoming more self sufficient. In this issue, you will read poems about nature and finding space in nature but also about growing and processing food. These responses made me think more deeply about my desire to look to great minds from the past for guidance. They can help us, I think, to a point.

But, in some ways, our interesting times are uniquely ours, as we struggle with the consequences of climate change, a divided society, and the damage AI data centers are doing to our environment. Food is expensive, and because the war in Iran continues, I expect food prices this fall will be much worse.

So maybe how we respond has to be uniquely our own as well. Thoreau sat in jail, refusing to pay taxes to a corrupt government. Some people are refusing to pay taxes now, but I have decided to resist through kindness and art, through self sufficiency and doing my best to support local economy in every way I can. I am helping others with every ounce of energy I can muster. And I will keep looking for ways to do more.

As you read this issue, I hope you will think about growing a garden, processing food, and stepping back from technology. I think there is a future that is about community, nature, the arts, and restoration. It may just take us a few years go get there, but in some ways, the crumble is necessary to build back something better and more beautiful.

I hope you enjoy these lovely pieces and find some time to wander this summer–or maybe make some strawberry jam.

Sending love from Maine.