Friends and readers of the Artful Dodge:
We’ve been quiet at the Dodge lately for a variety of reasons: our founding editor’s retirement, a resulting change in editorship, the coronavirus pandemic. We have some administrative updates about the Dodge to share with you, which will come at the end of this post, but first we need to speak to this moment by saying: Black Lives Matter.
On May 25, 2020, four Minneapolis police officers murdered a Black man named George Floyd in an act of horrific violence. In the aftermath of his death, his name has become a rallying cry for antiracist movements around the world.
We must remember George Floyd’s name, and the names of others: Ahmaud Arbery, James Scurlock, Tony McDade, David McAtee, Breonna Taylor. We must also recognize that their deaths are part of a heartbreakingly vast history of devastation visited upon Black people in the name of white supremacy.
Millions around the world have taken to the streets to protest and mourn. Some have just woken up to the brutality of racism; many have been working tirelessly for racial justice for years. Together they demand change on all levels of society, in all areas, from emergency response to healthcare to education–not only justice for George Floyd, but true justice and equity for all.
We at the Artful Dodge stand unequivocally opposed to all overt and covert forms of racism. In this time of sorrow and courage, fury and hope, we want to support the voices of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) activists speaking out about the changes our world needs, including the abolition and defunding of institutions that act to preserve racist power. Below, we’ve gathered some resources for readers to learn and take action in support of racial justice.
We are learning and thinking, too, and are dedicated to figuring out how we as editors of a literary magazine based at a small liberal arts college can contribute to antiracist work not just in the publishing industry and academia, but beyond–in our lives that we spend off the page. We will report back in the future with specific actions we plan to undertake.
Once more: Black Lives Matter. So do Black words, Black art, Black passion, Black scholarship, Black innovation and joy.
*
The administrative updates we promised: first, our founding editor, Daniel Bourne, is retiring from his teaching at the College of Wooster, our home institution, and is handing over the reins of editorship he took up in 1979 to his colleague in the English Department, writer Katharine Beutner. Watch our soon-to-be-updated website and social media this summer for a farewell message from Dan.
Due in part to the coronavirus pandemic, we will not be publishing a new issue this summer–but we aim to publish our next issue by the end of 2020, and we anticipate opening a new reading period for submissions in the fall. Updates on this to come as well. Currently, we are working our way through a backlog of submissions. We appreciate your patience and look forward to reading your work again soon.
With hope and determination,
Katharine Beutner & Daniel Bourne
Learn more about the Movement for Black Lives and amplify their demands:
Donate:
https://nymag.com/strategist/article/where-to-donate-for-black-lives-matter.html
Support Black artists, businesses, and bookstores:
https://shoppeblack.us/2020/03/black-owned-online-bookstores1/
https://lithub.com/you-can-order-today-from-these-black-owned-independent-bookstores/
Suggested anti-racist reading:
https://bookshop.org/lists/antiracist-reading-list
Publishing equity:
#PublishingPaidMe, a hashtag and Google doc collecting information on advances and book deals to expose racial disparities in compensation: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Xsx6rKJtafa8f_prlYYD3zRxaXYVDaPXbasvt_iA2vA/edit?usp=sharing
