ROOT QUARTERLY

One Part Print Publication

RQ is a print-only, subscription-based quarterly journal rooted in Philadelphia, but celebrating content from Pennsylvania and beyond. While we intend to celebrate our artists, writers, social entrepreneurs, and neighborhoods, we’ll also be looking at critical analyses of larger ideas, and criticism and appreciation of nationally relevant cultural touchstones. We’ll also reprint articles and essays from other publications that we think deserve a larger audience. Expect profiles, recommendations, fiction, poetry, essays, and analysis. Expect art. Expect to hold something in your hand that you might want to curl up with on a Sunday afternoon that may by turns delight, challenge, and inspire you. Subscribe now!

One Part Collaborative Art Project

RQ is beautiful, carefully curated, culturally relevant, and was run entirely as a volunteer operation to start (and mostly still is!). Our team consists of professional editors, writers, photographers, and artists who want to make something interesting and insightful. It started as a self-funded project published by Red Pen Arts founder Heather Shayne Blakeslee, who also serves as editor-in-chief. We have started to attract individual donors, and our first grant was from the Pluralism and Civil Exchange Program at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center. We are fiscally-sponsored through CultureWorks, and can accept tax deductible donations to support our work.

One Part Social Experiment

RQ will seek opportunities to bring people together by finding common ground, challenging reactionary and divisive politics, fostering civil dialogue, and celebrating interesting artists and ideas. It will not offer full content online, it won’t spend precious resources on constant interactions on social media, and it won’t have a comments section—but thoughtful letters to the editor will be most welcome.

If you’d like to host an RQ Discussion Party with editor Heather Shayne Blakeslee, please visit the contact page and be in touch.

Masthead

Editor-in-Chief
Heather Shayne Blakeslee

Ideas Editor & Copy Chief
Walter Foley

Managing Editor and Events Director
Lauren Leonard

Contributing Culture Editors
Matthew Burdette
Jared Michael Lowe
Diana Lu
Ginger Rudolph

Poetry Editor
Joshua Mehigan

Editorial Assistant
Iona Clark

Creative Director
Launa Changnon

Brand Director
Jeremy Blakeslee

Brand Development
Joanna Nowak

Chief Illustrator
Christopher Clark Spencer

Publisher
Red Pen Arts
Queen Village
Philadelphia, PA 19147