News & Notes

Home Is the Place

From the Archive

In her essay “The Good End of Pleasant Street,” which appears in our June issue, Heather Lanier and her family move into an apartment that’s part dream, part unfortunate reality. Their new place is in a beautiful Vermont town and has affordable rent. However, it’s also got lead paint, loud neighbors, and proximity to the town’s heroin crisis. All of this leaves the author continually wondering whether she’s living at what local residents call the “good end” or the “bad end” of Pleasant Street.

The Ties That Bind

Poetry in Our May Issue

Our relationships with family members are often crucial to who we are, for better or worse, and the poems in our May issue explore two sides of that dynamic. In “Boxer’s Fracture,” by Jackleen Holton, a mother’s death brings up strong emotions from the speaker’s painful childhood. In Meghan Daniels’s “Separation” the stresses and challenges of parenting, while exhausting, also form a solid center in the speaker’s life during an uncertain time.

Become A Friend Of The Sun

The Sun has always belonged to its readers. It exists because people believe in quiet conversation, in close listening, in honest storytelling. It exists because readers like you decide that this endeavor is worth sustaining.

Contenders

From the Archive

In our April interview [“Lesson Plan”] Pranav Jani, an English professor at The Ohio State University, discusses the current state of activism on college campuses. With the Trump administration bullying schools into cracking down on political speech, are our institutions of higher learning still a free marketplace of ideas?

The Sun and Higher Education

This month’s issue begins with a revealing, in-depth interview with professor Pranav Jani on campus activism. Although The Sun has never had a university affiliation, we’ve been located in the college town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for our entire existence, and the work, interests, and values of university students have always been important elements of the magazine.

Staying Active

From the Archive

In our April interview [“Lesson Plan”] Pranav Jani, an English professor at The Ohio State University, discusses the current state of activism on college campuses. With the Trump administration bullying schools into cracking down on political speech, are our institutions of higher learning still a free marketplace of ideas?

New-Release Roundup

March 2026

Recent book releases from Sun authors include a collection of dark tales set in small-town Indiana, poetry that wrestles with the sacred, and a memoirist’s reflections on caring for her parents in their final years. Pick one up today and support these wonderful writers.—Ed.

A Study In Contrasts

Poetry in Our March Issue

The poems in this month’s issue are a study in contrasts. Kenneth Hart’s “Indecision” is a metaphorical reflection on what is “probably the least attractive quality in a man,” as the author says. “Los Vecinos” tells the story of Alison Luterman’s immigrant neighbor, a wise and generous woman, against the backdrop of nearby ICE patrols. What the poems do have in common is that they’re both absorbing and skillful pieces of writing.

David Berman Playlist

March 2026

 In our March issue we included a selection of the late David Berman’s poetry as a Dog-Eared Page. I’ve long admired Berman as a poet, but it was his music that first drew me in. Shortly after hearing some acquaintances cover his “Black and Brown Blues” in high school, I picked up two CDs by his band Silver Jews: The Natural Bridge and  American Water. I bought them while on a field trip to New York City—you couldn’t find CDs like that in the rural area where I grew up—and I’ve been a fan ever since. If you enjoyed his poetry and would like a primer on his songs, below is a David Berman playlist with some of my favorites—hopefully as good a place to start as any. —Derek Askey, Senior Editor

New-Release Roundup

February 2026

Recent book releases from Sun authors include a novelist’s chronicle of her mysterious illness, a fantasy set in the mountains of Appalachia, and a debut poetry collection. Pick one up today and support these wonderful writers.—Ed.