There is so much intense work going on here in the tiny Street Sense office, on the second floor of the Church of the Epiphany, that life here can sometimes get a bit overwhelming.
For our dozens of homeless and formerly homeless vendors, there is the daily struggle of survival. They are out in all kinds of weather, selling Street Sense and educating the public, first hand, about the challenges of living on a shoestring.
Then there is our journalistic mission. We attempt, in every issue, to bring you compelling news of homelessness and poverty, covered in a fair and accurate way.
We are so focused on these important jobs we sometimes forget to stop and appreciate what a thriving creative community Street Sense has also become.
Vendors often take a break from their newspaper sales – and their busy lives – to sit down at the office computers and write more poems, essays and stories than we have room to print in any given issue.
Add to that our creative neighbors at places such as Miriam’s Kitchen, who gather daily to paint, draw and distill beauty and order out of their sometimes-chaotic lives. Looking at all this, we recently realized we had the makings of a full issue honoring homelessness and the arts.
We invite you to browse and enjoy what you find among these pages: the first installment of an intriguing new three-part story by vendor Ivory Wilson, song lyrics by vendor and guitarist Greg Phillips, and a fascinating variety of poems by vendors including Franklin Sterling, Jermale McKnight, DeRutter Jones and Chris Shaw.
We hope you find their writings have been complemented by the powerful visual work of Miriam’s artists, including the Great LA DALE, Anne Marie Holloway and Eugene Sanford. And volunteer contributor Frank Russell has shared his astute sketches illustrating the lives of homeless people here in the District and in his native Baltimore.
Our Writer’s Group page, ably edited and composed by vendor Reginald Black and the Writer’s Group crew, serves up, as always, a colorful array of short verse and essays.
So here it is, our arts issue. Thanks so much for reading.
