Why I Love "The Sun"

There was a point in time where my mailbox was littered with magazines - weeklies, monthlies, bimonthlies, special issues - more than my two eyes (even with the aid of contact lenses) could read before the next batch arrived. So I made a conscious effort to cut back. I opted out of the killing of trees to support my information junkie habit by allowing subscriptions to come to their natural end and turning a blind eye to renewal notices. I whittled my subscriptions down to the four I thought most supported who I was - or at least the person I was trying to be: 1) The New Yorker, 2) Poet’s & Writers, 3) Yoga Journal, and 4) Black Enterprise. Alas, even these four magazines were too much. I replaced the hard copies of the last three with their electronic newsletters, and struggled to find time to read more than just the weekly fiction piece in the New Yorker. So when the idea to subscribe to The Sun came to me last May, I had to seriously question my motives.

I learned about the magazine in my weekly writing group (our fearless leader works there) where we wrote a few times on the "Reader's Write" topics, but really had no clue on what was in it. I took a leap of literary faith when I signed up for a year's subscription - and am so glad I did because each month I get to read things like this:

“The train shuttles past 125th Street and into a dark tunnel. There is just the feeling of forward momentum, the train car jostling on the tracks, and the sound of mechanical squealing. Then suddenly there is light again, the yellow surge of Grand Central ahead.” (from Boston to New York by Christina Fitzpatrick - March 2009 issue p. 25)

I read this passage about five times on the bus yesterday. Reading this paragraph brought me back to the countless number of times I have ridden the subway, LIRR, Metro North, and Amtrak in my lifetime. I felt like I was on the train - right there with the main character, which is what great writing should do - deposit the reader in the moment. Just about everything I've read this past year has done that for me - even the photo essays. And that's why I love the Sun!