Our Publication

Our Goals for the Publication

• To create a publication that embodies or activates “misfit” as a method, a citation protocol*, an aesthetic, a materiality, a placement, an epistemology, etc — and that constitutes a mutualistic set of misfit parts. [*how do we, as misfits, situate ourselves within a network of reference, an ethos of acknowledgment?]
• To practice that mutualism by creating a supportive, ethical, and enjoyable peer-review, mentorship, and mutual aid process.
• To celebrate and honor our work together, and well as the contributions of our hosts and visitors.
• To thank those hosts and visitors, as well as the other organizations and communities — the fellow misfits — that inspire, challenge, and support us.
• To serve the broader purposes of the Cross-Reference Coalition, particularly as they resonate within this particular political moment. Our obligations and interests extend beyond ourselves to the broader public knowledge / cultural heritage universe of our city — and, ideally, our work will resonate even farther.

Your Contributions to the Publication

We’ll determine the shape of our publication throughout the fall and into the early spring. You’ll each be invited to offer a short contribution in any of a variety of formats: articles, photo essays, poems, illustrations, archival dossiers, recipes, scores, etc. We’ll dedicate two entire fall sessions to publication exploration and planning (October 30 and December 4); you’ll have multiple conversations, and receive multiple rounds of feedback, from Shannon and Elaine; and we’ll host two spring workshops to collectively strengthen — and build cross-references between — one another’s contributions.

To help everyone “scale” their projects, we collectively decided that each contribution should be roughly the equivalent of eight pages. You’re all working in different formats, with various combinations of image / text / material objects / other media — so we can concretize parameters on a case-by-case basis via individual consultations 🙂

Our Publication Production Materials

I’ve created a shared Google Folder (accessible, as always, via the email address with which you’ve registered for the class) that contains the following:

• The photos we’ve all taken on our fieldtrips (please make sure to label your files with your name so we can offer appropriate credit if we use your images in the publication!)
• A spreadsheet summarizing each participant’s contribution; feel free to edit your own entry however you see fit, and as often as you like!
  • This list will help all of us find folks whose subject matter overlaps with our own; those who are engaging with similar methods or modalities or collections, etc.; those with whom we might want to consult or collaborate;
  • It’ll afford our designers and production managers (i.e., Elaine and Shannon) a macro-scale picture of the publication as a whole; and
  • It’ll help us round up groups who’ve offered to assist with particular aspects of the publication design, production, distribution, and celebration proceses
• A folder for each contributor where we’ll eventually gather your drafts, media assets, etc.