The Thesauri Crisii
It happened on the campaign trail of the presidential election of 2000. Five years before conspiracy theorists concluded that Dick Cheney brought explosives to the levees of New Orleans, major news organizations trumpeted that he “brought gravitas to the ticket.” No less than 16 different news commentators touted the same word-for-word hyperbolic revelation.
Spotlight: The power of “o-c-O-C” : Environmental Organizing
Trevor Lovell, the environmental program coordinator for Public Citizen’s Texas office and co-founder of ReEnergize Texas, speaks on the power of “o-c-O-C” (pronounced “aukuh-aukuh”).
Spotlight: The Maine Farm Chick
There’s this bumper sticker I keep seeing, “No Farms, No Food.” I guess that’s the basic nature of it. But beyond that, people tend to see neatly packaged food in the supermarket and forget where it came from.
Call for Submissions: Competition
The Orris is seeking critical and creative work on the theme of “Competition” for our next issue. Essays, fiction, poetry, artwork, photography, music, film, and other digital mediums are welcomed.
Artist Profile: Roeya Amigh
“I want the viewer to come close to my paintings. To look at my paintings.” The Orris sat down with painter Roeya Amigh to discuss her work, her Iranian home, and the necessarily fine line between beauty and darkness.
Issue Three: Letter from the Editor
To live environmentally is not just to work toward conservation, but to be an observant, mindful participant in our complex global, social and natural ecosystems. In this issue of The Orris, we look at the environment as not only the natural world around us …
American Dream Recommendations
Orris Contributors share their favorite American Dream inspired works like Arcade Fire’s “Modern Man,” Sherry Garland’s “Shadow of the Dragon” and Ilan Stavan’s “Spanglish”
New Maps to American Hell: Dystopian Warnings Then and Now
I’m half filled with optimism as I witness the potential for a great collective change that I believe is only at its beginning. But there’s another part of me that is sunk with a real sense of dread and fear.
Outgoing President George W. Bush at the Inaugural Speech of Incoming President Barack Obama
Man I’m never as free as when I’m there
racin’ that truck over the Crawford dirt,
’bout 60, 70, feels like 90 —
The American Dream
This dream we have been taught to strive toward has failed him, yet he hasn’t given up on the dreaming part. Kay’s enthusiasm for his country wasn’t about his own economic well-being anymore. It involved governmental reform, and a better society.
American Way: A Series on Main Street America
The myth of Main Street is useful, but only if we recognize it as a story we tell ourselves about ourselves in the present.
The Orris: A Cultural Journal 