Indelible Ink is Going Full-Out Activist for the Duration
There’s a monster in our midst and I’ll be using our platform to take him down
Big changes at Indelible Ink, starting today. I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while now, but as the unemployment numbers go up, as the COVID death toll rises, as our climate, both political and terrestrial, gets more and more chaotic, I’m convinced the time is now.
It’s no secret that the owner here (that’s me) is an opinionated liberal activist who makes no bones about which side she’s on. I’m on America’s side. Donald Trump has no respect for the country or the office he holds, yet there he is, holding the highest job in the land, holding our lives in his hands, holding on to powers he’s designated for himself that have no resemblance to reality or the constitution.
I’ve put a call out to writers everywhere who want to join us and cause ‘good trouble’, as John Lewis admonished us to do so many times before his passing.
The most important election of our lives is looming, and there’s no guarantee Trump won’t be given another four years. We can’t let that happen, and that’s where writers and editors like you and me come in.
We have a soapbox, if only we’ll use it. America has a long tradition of writers-as-activists, going back to Thomas Paine and the Federalist Papers. We’ve had Mark Twain and Will Rogers, Edward R. Murrow and Woodward and Bernstein. We’ve had Ida B. Wells and Gloria Steinem and Maya Angelou and Molly Ivins.
But there are so many others who write seemingly in the dark, hoping to shed some light, brimming with passion and concern, wanting their voices to be heard. I want that, too. I want it for all of us. And they’ll have a home here if they want it.
Just today, I published a piece by Karie Luidens that perfectly fits my vision for the new path we’re about to take:
https://medium.com/indelible-ink/i-wish-contagion-had-come-true-bd4b60b4b72a
I love all of the pieces we’ve published since our last newsletter (and please take the time to read them here), and I owe sincere apologies to those Creative Nonfiction writers who felt they had a home here and now feel shut out. It won’t be forever — just until we make this country safe and start to get it back on track.
Donald Trump can’t win in November. He has insulted our country, insulted the office he holds, and has insulted half the citizens he supposedly ‘leads’. We’ll be working here at Indelible Ink to give the reasons why he doesn’t deserve another four years.
No apologies. That’s the way it will be at Indelible Ink until we can feel safe again. I hope you’ll stick around, but if you don’t, I’ll understand. We all have our own paths. This is mine.
If you would like to write for Indelible Ink, please read our submission guidelines and get in touch. We’ll leave the light on for you.
