I’ve logged more experience than most with simplicity and the complexity you discover inside simplicity, minimalism and asocial behavior, endurance and landscape.
Here is the truth: I think some deep wisdom inside me (a) sensed the stress, (b) was terrified for me, and (c) gave me something new and hard to focus on in order to prevent me from lapsing into a despair coma — and also to keep me from having a jelly jar of wine in my hand.
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James Crews is the editor of How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope, which is forthcoming in April. He lives on an organic farm in Vermont with his husband and a flock of noisy crows. You can follow him on Instagram: @james.crews.poet.
Jared Harél’s debut poetry collection is Go Because I Love You. He plays drums for New York City rock band Flyin’ J and lives in Queens with his wife and two children.
Al Kesselheim is a Montana-based author of eleven books who is easing his way into retirement by taking a river journey each month. You can follow his trail at alkesselheim.com.
Alison Luterman’s latest poetry collection is In the Time of Great Fires. She is currently teaching writing, learning to sing, and working on a musical called The Shyest Witch. She lives in Oakland, California.
Teddy Macker is the author of the poetry collection This World. He lives with his wife and daughters on a farm in Carpinteria, California, where he maintains an orchard.
Tim McDonald is the singer-songwriter of the band Broken Poets. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where he no longer plays in bars. “It just never worked,” he says. “People go to bars to forget, and my music makes them remember.” You can follow him on Twitter: @timvendor.
Laura Pritchett is the author of five novels and two books of nonfiction. When not writing or directing the MFA program in nature writing at Western Colorado University, she is busy cloud gazing and learning guitar.
Kathleen Radigan’s work has been published by The Boston Globe, PANK, and the Academy of American Poets. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she teaches high school and does standup comedy.
Peter Singer is a philosopher and animal-rights advocate who teaches at Princeton University. He splits his time between New Jersey and Melbourne, Australia.
Sparrow has two forthcoming books: a novella, The Princeton Diary, and a collection of essays, Small Happiness & Other Epiphanies. He lives in a doublewide trailer in Phoenicia, New York. You can follow him on Twitter: @Sparrow14.
Leath Tonino is the author of the essay collections The Animal One Thousand Miles Long and The West Will Swallow You. He recently spent a month as an artist-in-residence in Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park, hiking, writing, and rolling his sleeping bag out in an orchard each night.
Michael Galinsky is a filmmaker, photographer, and musician who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He has been a contributor to The Sun for more than thirty years.
Robert Graham is the art director of The Sun. He lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
Mark Herboth lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He photographed the gray wolf on this month’s cover while on vacation in Alaska, where he visited the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, a sanctuary that cares for injured and orphaned animals.
Russell Houlston has been a photographer and entrepreneur since 1966. He lives in Walnut Creek, California.
Jason Innes is a photographer who lives in Longmont, Colorado.
Al Lapkovsky is a photographer who lives in Riga, Latvia. His photography series “Disconnecting Connection,” about the effects of social media on human relationships, has gone viral — on social media.
Tom Malone lives in Colorado, where he teaches English, writes, and ventures into the Rocky Mountains to snowboard and hike. He enjoys a good IPA and a well-made PB&J.
Lisa Rigge’s work has been published in ZYZZYVA and LensWork. She is a retired adult-education teacher who lives in Pleasanton, California.
Valeria Santeusanio is a graphic design and advertising student at the University of Tampa in Florida. She enjoys playing volleyball and making homemade cards.
Nathan Warren lives in the United Kingdom and specializes in wildlife, wedding, and real-estate photography.
Editor and Founder Sy Safransky
Senior Editor Andrew Snee
Art Director Robert Graham
Digital-Media Director David Mahaffey
Associate Editor Finn Cohen
Assistant Editors Derek Askey Nancy Holochwost
Editorial Associate & Photo Editor Rachel J. Elliott
Editorial Assistant Staci Kleinmaier
Proofreader Seth Mirsky
Editorial Intern Anna Gazmarian
Publisher Rob Bowers
Associate Publisher Krista Bremer
Director of Publishing Operations Holly McKinney
Special Events & Outreach Manager Molly House
With Help From Manuscript Reading Dave Hart Paula Jolin Gillian Kendall Rebecca Lanning Hank Stephenson
Proofreading Erica Berkeley