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A Celestial Page Turn

Author

Becca Quon

Date

October 7, 2026

On September 22, METRO held a fall gathering for community members that celebrated the changing seasons and, excitingly for the Cross-Reference Coalition, the launch of the first two collaborative projects written, edited, and shaped by our Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 classes. 

Marking the fall equinox. Photo by Mina Leazer.

The event marked the first major gathering of the many individuals who have participated in and supported the CRC during its first year, and a small planning group dreamt up a meaningful program of activities and panel discussions that reflected the themes, locations, and materials explored by each class: The Misfit (Fall 2025) and Search & Discovery (Spring 2026). 

CRC bingo invited attendees to make new connections with one another.  

CRC bingo. Photo by Mina Leazer.

An offering table invoked Autumn equinox traditions, which often provide an opportunity to give thanks as the year comes to a close and to share bounty with others. Attendees were invited to leave an offering or take something they’d found. A set of tin cans connected by string invited passersby to whisper secrets to the void. Number of secrets divulged: unknown.

Setting up our offerings. Photo by Mina Leazer.

A map of the city marked the locations of class visits and places featured in our publications. Everyone was invited to share additional places in the city that could invite a spirit of discovery, play and new learnings.

A map of class site visits, collections featured in our publications, and attendee discoveries.

And attendees were invited to jot down brief reflections in response to a handful of questions, engaging in their own explanation of class themes, which were knit together into a zine, after the event, by Search & Discovery participant Holly Wilson.

Two brief panel conversations explored the content and design of the publications. During the first, moderated by Dr. Shannon Mattern, who led both classes, Search & Discovery authors Simi Best & Kassidi Jones and Misfit authors Jiefei Yuan & Rachel Meade Smith each shared a peek at their written piece and its influences. And for the second, moderated by Hannah Yukiko Pierce (a Misfit author and artist’s book publisher), Misfit graphic designer Elaine Lopez joined Dr. Mattern and authors Cen Liu and Holly Wilson to discuss the ways design and content shape one another over the course of a project. The program concluded with an address by program participant Xinan Ran at the moment of the equinox. 

Members of the fall cohort, Public Study, also joined the celebration, and met one another before class convened the next day.

Kassidi Jones speaks about her piece, A sonnet is. stag that can go anywhere, or, Regenesis. Photo by Mary Bakija.
Cen Liu discusses her contribution to Misfit: an investigation into the misfit standards governing how Chinese writing is stored, catalogued, and retrieved in the North American archive. Photo by Becca Quon.

We wish to extend a tremendous thanks to the following individuals who contributed their creativity, time, materials, and care to sparking connection and community at this gathering:

Representing The Misfit

Representing Search & Discovery

Representing METRO Staff

Misfit contains works by the 17 participants of the Fall 2025 CRC class by the same name. Photo by Elaine Lopez
Three zines in shades of blue and green arrayed with a yellow broadsheet behind them.
Zines on Search & Discovery composed through our Spring 2026 class’s exploration. Photo by zoë pulley.

We’re thrilled to have launched these two incredible projects into the world—the collective effort of more than 30 individuals involved in the CRC’s first two classes—and hope you’ll enjoy exploring them. Print copies are freely available as supplies allow. Request a copy here.