From the Archives

At the Motif headquarters there is a corner full of white boxes. Their sides are emblazoned with dates, months, years, scribbled in different shades of marker. Some are crossed out and hastily re-written, some boxes lay coverless, or bound in a thick plastic tape. This hodgepodge corner is the Motif archives, and was my home for the last few weeks as I burrowed through the history of our magazine. Make no mistake, this was no boring job; I exuberantly ripped their yellow papers back into the light of day, sometimes with a touch of maniacal laughter, and sometimes with a pang of sadness. I read, steadily, hungrily, soaking up the past as though it could bring me back, and somehow help me move forward. What I revived were old columns, romantic advice, music/ movie reviews, deeply philosophical social commentary and political satire – things that showcase the breadth, talent, and personality of our special little magazine. It was hard to choose such a small sample to encapsulate all these years, but in the words of a favorite poet of mine, there is “no choice but to start digging.” So sit down, take off the lid, and get to it. •

PUBLISHERS NOTE: I’ve been with Motif for 12 years now, and am surprised and humbled by the process of looking back on what’s happened over that time. I could write a book (and am, when I have scraps of free time), but am also nearly speechless. The creation process leaves us constantly writing a few weeks in the future, planning a few months in the future and responding to things on a crisis-by-crisis basis. To look back is a rare and treasured experience – thank you, readers, for taking this trip with us, and for your company on so many of our arts and culture shenanigans! –Mike Ryan