from the publisher

We have been thrilled by the response to our first issue. Many folks want to come to our next party, have made suggestions for OtP suggests and off the page, and are submitting work. A number of readers have asked about our next issue, but we're still in the midst of this one.

new this week
Outsiders and Community continues this week with new nonfiction, fiction, and poetry that share elements of risk-taking and melancholia, suitable for February.

nonfiction
In Letter from Missoula, Rick Stern describes small victories in the struggle to create community.

fiction
In her first published story, Rachel Haas shares an intimate tale of family values, homecomings, and hedgehogs.

poetry
In Nereid, Sara Berkeley looks back at her mythological ancestors and the passage from life into death. And in his poem, The Next Religion, Peter Tomassi imagines a faith of the future built on the daily lives of its followers.

earlier in this issue
If you missed the "the me celebration" on Valentine's Day, you'll find it here; the bison of San Francisco are still grazing; William Nations can still tell you about saving his grandparents; and Paul Tough talks about music, writing and bowling. Take a poetic trip to the supermarket or to Prague. Read part one of a story about the suddenly single, and seven parts of the mysterious life of Mr. Kornblatt. You'll find Mimi Chakarova's South African photo essay; and you will find even more of her work at TD 156, An Installation Space in San Francisco.

in the coming weeks
Fake lesbians, smoking and crying, finding the right bar, widows of war, Albert Einstein, Woody Guthrie, classical bowling and bowling alone, self-help, Zen killers in Brooklyn, drug peddlers in Africa, and other ephemera.

upcoming themes
Sometime in March, we'll address siblings, and later this spring we'll have adult adolescence.

We hope you enjoy On the Page, and we love to hear from you.

all the best,

nada