Archives of Inspiration

Going Home Again

By Phoebe Pohlman It’s strange the things I can talk myself into if I try hard enough. I will suppress my own true and deep desires to make my life fit a version of something I think I want.  I began questioning my carefully-crafted plans of moving away from Southeast Missouri to begin my teaching […]
3 years ago

Say Yes: Here’s a place to start

Yes. Such a simple, yet powerful word.  Maybe you said it when the right one asked for your hand in marriage. Maybe you said it when your soul told you to walk away from the one who wasn’t right. Big, small, momentous and inconsequential, how we use the word yes can shape life as we […]
3 years ago

ritual: letter from the editor

Χάος is one of my favorite Greek words. Not only is it fun to say, pronounced from the back of the throat kind of like hawking up a loogie, but it also translates to “chaos,” and describes perfectly one of my favorite Greek phenomenons: recess. At the school I taught at in Athens, when the […]
4 years ago

Part of the Process

The way we farm matters. By Emily Scifers  As dawn starts to creep over the horizon, I pull my aching body out of bed. Yesterday’s planting took a toll. I tell myself not to skip my morning walk around the field. It loosens me up before I really get to work. Spring training on the […]
4 years ago

letter from the editor, Spring 2021

“I want an adult to tell me it’s hard to be a teenager.” My friend Erin, an incredible young person, said this to me over the summer. One of her teachers had told her class they should enjoy their time now as teens before they become adults, because it’s the easiest life will ever be. […]
4 years ago

Art for You

The water closes in, threatening to take me down.  Overwhelmed by salt and sand, I find myself Splashing. Gasping. Fighting.   Struggling to survive.  Waves of self-doubt crash over my head.  Anxiety and fear swirl around my feet. What if I’m not enough?  What if I’m too much?    My eyes dart left, then right. […]
4 years ago

Try Something New: Tips for watercolor

Watercolor is the process of painting with pigments that are mixed with water. With just a little water, the colors can be bright and vibrant. Add more water, and the colors become subtle and opaque. Mix when wet, and your colors will bleed. Wait until dry, and the colors won’t mix. It’s a simple form […]
4 years ago

meet along the way: Joannie Smith

Women do incredible things. Here, we feature the stories of women who are a part of the Southeast Missouri community by way of living here, being from here or passing through. We hope these stories inspire you to connect with others and that they encourage you to be who you are in the world. We […]
4 years ago

letter from the editor

The first time I put on glasses, I saw leaves. They were on the trees, these beautiful little diamond shapes, two curved lines that met at a point on both ends, straight line down the center, tethered there in place to the branch by a tie, waving in the wind. They had lines around the […]
4 years ago