Editor's Note: Public

In this issue we explore many aspects of public life, including community activism, civil service, public education, and elected office. We also dig into some more nebulous and philosophical questions: What is “the public,” anyway? Who, and what, does it include?

Sometimes the answers to such questions are clear. For Oregon Humanities, our public is you, our readers. We know a little about you, or at least the fourteen thousand or so of you who subscribe to the print magazine: that is, we know your names and where you get your mail. When we boast of having subscribers in every county in Oregon, we do so with total certainty.

There is also much we do not know. The post office needs only a nine-digit zip code, but the government agencies and foundations whose support (along with that of readers like you) makes this publication possible want more detailed demographic information. So every three years, to help us understand our public better, we ask readers to tell us a little bit about themselves and, while they’re at it, to share their thoughts on the themes and stories that appear in the magazine.

It’s that time again: please help us keep this magazine free for all Oregonians by visiting oregonhumanities.org/survey or by scanning the QR code on the back cover of this issue. It’s a short, anonymous survey, and completing it will make you eligible to win a $50 gift card to Powell’s Books. That’s another thing we know about our public: you love books.

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Oregon Humanities Magazine, Public

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Also in this Issue

From the Director: West of Boardman

Editor's Note: Public

Poem: Anonymous

From Hedge to Hedge

Nowhere to Hide

We Contain Multitudes

The Power of Community Spaces

After Fire

A Radical Idea

An Honor and a Duty

Writing on the Wall

Posts

People, Places, Things: Paul Knauls, Portland

Discussion Questions and Further Reading