We think being a New Englander means more than fresh-from-the-tree maple syrup, lobster and covered bridges.
This winter has been the worst. Putting that into words even feels like an understatement. It doesn’t do justice to everything that we’ve had to put up with this year: the unending shoveling, the scrabble for parking where you won’t get towed, and the resulting stir-craziness that comes from weeks on end being stuck inside. When friends in warmer climates point out that we live in a rather brutal part of the earth, it gives us an opportunity to say, “Well, we’re New Englanders!” (as if that explains so much).
In our meetings, the Take Magazine staff has been talking about what makes a New Englander. Maybe because the crap weather is weighing heavily on our minds this year, the topic jumps to the top of the list. Being a New Englander has to mean more than just putting up with bad meteorological reports. As we’ve been building the first issue of Take, we’ve been intently thinking about and discussing what it means to be a New Englander in the creative sense. We not only want to bring you the stories of people making culture in our neighborhood, but we also want to explore the reason why they are creating here.
One thing that I’ve known since since Day One of working on Take is that having a network of amazing contributors from all around the region was going to be essential to our success. When almost 500 of you signed up for our email list and said you wanted to be a contributor, there was a collective sense of amazement in our office. When that was followed up with about 200 responses to our contributor survey, where many of you pitched your talents and some amazing stories…well, it’s left us just a bit overwhelmed.
Thank you all for taking the time to be in touch. We are a small staff, and we are taking the time to review the submissions. We hope many of you will be able to join us as we build a vibrant New England-wide network of writers, photographers, and filmmakers that will be part of the creation of this monthly showcase of the best the creative community in New England has to offer.