| If
you don’t write,
you can’t get rejected.
If
you don’t get rejected,
you can’t get published!
Have
you written a “letter to the editor,” an “op-ed,”
or submitted a piece of artwork (op-art, cartoon, etc.) which has
been rejected by a newspaper or other publication, but which you
believe would enhance the quality of public awareness, discussion,
and activism? We are soliciting letters, op-eds and materials like
these for a unique, always evolving new publication. We are looking
for materials that transcend the systemic amnesia of the daily news,
and will have ongoing relevance for our readers and potential authors.
The letter, op-ed or artwork need not be current, but it should
still be pertinent or of historical interest.
In the press, “Letters to the Editor” and “op-ed”
pages silently assert that journalism includes a place for the voice
of the public. But inconvenient truths are too often absent. Visionary
thoughts are too rarely heard. Proposals for democratic social change
and improvement are, for the most part, out of sight. Rejected Letters
to the Editor, an independent online magazine, is designed to provide
an important, if only partial, corrective. It is available to readers
at no cost.
Our goal at Rejected Letters to the Editor is to expand the visible
spectrum of ideas. To publish letters, etc., that will broaden public
discussion beyond the boundaries set by the gatekeepers of our mental
environment. We hold to the democratic conviction that public opinion
must be educated by, and conversant with, the course of human events,
and we will seek to publish work that allows essential perspectives,
presently unacknowledged by respected newspapers, to see the light
of day.
Our purpose is not to provide a dumping ground for every letter
or op-ed sent to a newspaper or magazine, but to publish those that
editors knowledgeable in a variety of fields believe will add to
public understanding of the pressing—and not so pressing—issues
of our time. We are uninterested in contributing to the widely rumored
problem of “information overload.” Through our editorial
choices, we hope to add clarity and knowledge that is too often
fugitive. Rather than adhering to the mind-numbing news cycle, we
will be publishing fortnightly and maintaining an archive of all
letters that appear in the publication.
Please address your submissions to: editors@rejectedletterstotheeditor.com
Your submissions are the seeds that will grow this publication and
advance the goal of serious public discussion about the burning
issues of our time. Your voice will inspire others, and the long-term
results will be to enrich the terrain of democracy. Please let us
know which publication you sent the letter, op-ed or artwork to,
the item (with date) you were responding to, and the best way to
contact you if necessary.
As you will see when you visit the site, letters are organized under
the following department categories:
—•
Planet
—•
Nation
—• Neighborhood
—• War
& Peace
—• Immigration
—• Business
& Economics
—• Education
—• Health
—• Labor
—• Science
& Technology
—• Politics
& Propaganda
—• Culture
& Ideas
—• Memory
& Amnesia
—• Beliefs
—•
Original Works
(Original Works is a special new department that publishes
original pieces that have NOT been rejected, but have been written
to RLTE directly.)
Even if you don't have a letter, please let others know about RLTE.
If you are in contact with socially concerned people in your community,
local associations, listservs or organizations committed to the
principle of an inclusive, informed and engaged public, please spread
the word and pass on this call.
Democracy is coming!
—Stuart Ewen, Editor-in-Chief
—Robin Locke Monda, Managing
Editor
—Elizabeth Ewen, Editor-at-Large
Comments
will be reviewed and
posted on a daily basis.
|
The
Occupation of Alcatraz,
Josh MacPhee
