The Difference You Make

Dear Readers:  

As we at Pangyrus round out our first full calendar year of publishing, we’re proud to have brought you an unusual blend of voices and cultures. 

Maybe you discovered Pangyrus through Sebastian Johnson’s “The War at Home” and its searing perspective on American race relations.  Or Harvey Blume’s interview with Oliver Sacks, or Tim McCarthy’s memoir, “Coming of AIDS.” Or Collier Nogues’ powerful, interactive poem “Dear Grace.”  Maybe you appreciate the fiction that editor Anne Bernays brings, or Dan Mazur’s comics investigations into subcultures, or the new advice column that seeks perspectives from across the globe.

Or maybe you have much of this still to discover.  A year in, we’ve published more than 80 authors.

Our mission is to connect, to use web and print to open new worlds to the curious, to weave together all genres of literature and reporting, and all manner of ideas, across virtual and geographical communities.  

We’re poised to bring you more, but we need to ask your help.   Your financial support–tax-deductible to the full extent of the law–will ensure we can keep growing. This upcoming year will see our staff—all volunteers—more than double. We’ll be reaching out to underrepresented populations, providing editorial support for writers to thrive, building bridges to more communities through workshops and readings.

One night last week crystallized the difference Pangyrus can make.  “Displaced,” the first of several open-mic storytelling events we’ll co-sponsor with the Harvard Kennedy School Review, brought together a crowd of 70-80 people, some wine, and talented hosts Tim McCarthy and Marie Danziger (lecturers at Harvard who have written and edited for us).  The theme was stories of uprootedness and migration.  We heard from a Palestinian refugee, and a Russian-Jewish emigré.  A granddaughter whose Navajo language was stolen from her.  A French woman’s sorrowful, defiant tribute to the cities she loves, Paris and Damascus.

These stories reached an audience–and will reach a bigger one, through print and web–because we were there.  And we were there because you are here, reading us, supporting us.  None of this would be possible without your support.  We hope you will aid us in bringing, week after week, inspiration and thought and beauty into the world.

Donate here.
Learn about our print editions here.
Read the latest stories here.

As always, your support on social media is also helpful. Like our page on Facebook.  Invite your friends to do so, and to sign up for our newsletter.  Above all, stay in touch and engaged.  We’ll see you in the new year.

Sincerely,

Greg Harris & Pangyrus Team